Massachusetts Region 4B Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of volunteers focused on emergency preparedness.

The Region 4B MRC Unit, which is hosted by the Arlington Health Department, covers 18 of the 27 communities within Massachusetts Emergency Preparedness Region 4B: Arlington, Belmont, Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Cohasset, Everett, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Norwell, Quincy, Revere, Scituate, Somerville, Watertown, Weymouth, and Winthrop. At the same time, the Region 4B MRC Unit also functions as an umbrella organization serving the whole region. It was established to develop a regional volunteer corps, to support MRC activities in the 27 communities within Region 4B, and to organize collaboration among the region’s four federally recognized MRC Units: Brookline MRC, Newton MRC, Norfolk County 7 MRC, and Region 4B MRC.

MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals, as well as other community members without healthcare backgrounds. MRC units engage these volunteers to strengthen public health, improve emergency response capabilities, and build community resiliency. Volunteers prepare for and respond to a wide variety of public health emergencies, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and acts of terrorism, and participate in a number of community-based events, such as flu clinics, parades, and health fairs.

Region 4B MRC volunteers have the opportunity to attend free emergency preparedness trainings in any of the 18 communities covered by the unit, as well as in several communities covered by neighboring MRC units. Such trainings may include First Aid/CPR, Stop the Bleed, Psychological First Aid, and many others. Additionally, many training courses offer continuing education credits (CEU’s) for health professionals.

For more information, please contact Domenic Gentile (the Region 4B MRC Coordinator) at region4bmrc@town.arlington.ma.us or call 781-316-3177.