Erie County Department of Health’s Public Health Preparedness program oversees activities and planning that aim to prevent and lessen injury, disease and premature death during emergencies or disasters such as:
- Disease outbreaks
- Fires
- Natural disasters like floods or extreme weather
- Power outages
- Hazardous material incidents
- Violent or terrorist acts such as biological attacks
Program activities include:
- Volunteer recruitment and training
- Provide education on emergency preparedness for the public
- Provide guidance and support to Erie County residents during an emergency
- Develop and update plans on how Erie County can respond to different kinds of emergencies, which includes coordinating:
- incident response and public health emergency operations
- the release of timely and critical incident information
- medicine and supplies
- medical services
In the event of an emergency response, the program serves as the county’s public health representative to local, state and federal government entities and to private organizations in the community such as hospital systems and nonprofits.
For details or questions about the program, email ecdhinfo@eriecountypa.gov.
Learn More about Public Health Preparedness
Volunteering
Volunteers with or without medical or health care experience who wish to share time & expertise are welcome to register for the Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps.
The Medical Reserve Corps is a national network of community-based volunteers that:
- helps make communities stronger and healthier
- adds to community preparedness & resilience with activities such assisting with community
vaccination clinics - prepares for & responds to natural disasters like floods & blizzards and public health emergencies such as disease outbreaks
The Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps serves Crawford, Erie, Forest, Venango and Warren counties. It accepts volunteers from these counties as well.
To register:
- Visit the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Pennsylvania website Serv.pa.gov.
- Select “Northwest Pennsylvania MRC”
The Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps is overseen by the Erie County Department of Health. For details, contact mrc@eriecountypa.gov or 814-823-5205.