Santa Cruz County Medical Reserve Corps

Training & Deployment

Santa Cruz County MRC depends on the effort of experienced volunteers to organize and train new and just-in-time volunteers. If you have an interest in leading trainings, please contact us using this form.

Required Training

• IS 100: Introduction to Incident Command System
• IS 700: National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• IS 800: National Response Framework, an Introduction (NIMS)
• CPR Certification (Basic Life Support (BLS) through American Heart Association or American Red Cross)

Recommended Training

• Psychological First Aid
• FEMA Emergency Management Institute provides a multitude of free, online courses 
• Stop the Bleed Training

After completing the above classes, continue your training by taking part in local and regional training exercises and opportunities. Additional Trainings will be sent out via email or Disater Healthcare Volunteer (DHV) system.

In Event of Deployment

1. Receive DHV alert request for deployment and approval from Santa Cruz County MRC Staff.
2. Receive confirmation from Santa Cruz County MRC Staff on deployment status.  Never self-deploy!
3. Receive just-in-time training from  MRC Staff. This may include receiving a prepared go-kit or give specific information on preparing one of your own.
4. Take the Disaster Service Workers (DSW) Oath before deployment.

Continued Education Credits (CEUs) Available for FEMA Online Courses

• The California Board of Registered Nursing has confirmed that CEUs awarded for FEMA online courses will be accepted for Registered Nurse (RN) license renewal purposes in California.
• RNs who want to use these courses for license renewal purposes should retain the certificate(s), indicate the course number, title, and number of contact hours. For the provider, indicate FEMA/NIMS as the provider.
• Those who pass the course(s) must print out the email/certificate for their records. Most of the courses are good for 3 or more contact hours (0.1 CEU = 1 contact hour).