Montgomery County seeks volunteers to assist at COVID-19 vaccine clinics
NORRISTOWN » If you’re a volunteer who would like to support your community by assisting public health officials in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, Montgomery County officials would like to hear from you.
Medical and non-medical volunteers can serve through the Montgomery County Medical Reserve Corps for the county’s COVID-19 volunteer response.
“Despite its name, you don’t have to be a medical person. We welcome any medical person who would like to volunteer but also any non-medical person because there are many tasks that can be done at the vaccine site that do not require any medical background at all,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said.
“Within the Medical Reserve Corps we have
a subgroup that is just for the COVID response so people will get slotted into that and then we will reach out to them as we need volunteers,” Arkoosh added. “We are definitely going to have an ongoing need for volunteers, particularly as we open up additional mass vaccination sites.
To register for the Medical Reserve Corps residents can visit the ServePA website at www.serv.pa.gov
Once your profile is complete, you will receive notification. The county Medical Reserve Corps has a COVID-19 task force group that members will join to help support with COVID-19 requests. Being a part of the Medical Reserve Corps COVID-19 task force group will allow all members to receive COVID-19 volunteer specific requests.
Your ServePA profile will help ensure your information is up to date for future volunteer opportunities.
Currently, the Montgomery County Office of Public Health is distributing vaccines, by appointment only, at a vaccination clinic hosted by the Montgomery County Community College main campus in Whitpain.
“We have a mix of employees and volunteers. We’ve had a very robust volunteer corps here in the county from the very beginning. They’ve been working at our testing sites in all kinds of ways,” said Arkoosh, who as a physician has been at the forefront of the county’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and provide citizens with the latest information regarding the outbreak.
The county plans to continue vaccinating people who live or work in the county at the clinic Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. based on the availability of vaccine. As more vaccine doses become available more appointment slots will be opened.
Officials also hope they can open a second vaccination clinic in the county later this month.
“But it is going to depend entirely upon how much vaccine we receive. We’re going to look at all of our options,” said Arkoosh, who did not identify the potential area being considered for a second vaccination site. “Sites are being scouted as I speak. As soon as we have that finalized we’ll be happy to share it.”
Officials said the purpose of the county Medical Reserve Corps is to improve the health and safety of county residents by establishing a group of medical and non-medical volunteers to support existing emergency medical personnel resources in the county. Additionally, the corps provides learning opportunities and skills development, disaster and emergency response opportunities and hands-on drills and exercises, officials said.
Officials added that participating in the corps can provide citizens with a sense of pride and accomplishment by serving their community.
For additional information about the Medical Reserve Corps county residents can visit www.montcopa.org/COVID-19 and click on the “County Vaccine Information Page” and “Frequently Asked Questions.”