The spring of 2005 was a busy season for the staff of the UMV MRC, who spoke at two national events.

The annual conference of the Medical Reserve Corps took place in San Francisco on April 20 to 22, with 400 attendees from across the United States. On opening night, UMVMRC program Director Sandy Collins, and Coordinator Nancy Burns, presented a poster session entitled "Leveraging MRC's Across the State: Perspectives from a Massachusetts Unit." A highlight of the evening was an unexpected visit from the U.S. Surgeon General, Richard S. Carmona.

Cmdr. Robert J. Tosatto, director of the national MRC program; Nancy Burns, coordinator of the UMV MRC; Sandy Collins, director of the UMV MRC; and the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Richard S. Carmona.

After barely a week to unpack, Collins and Burns were headed for their next event: the National Disaster Medical System conference. NDMS was held in Orlando from May 2 to 4, gathering a diverse audience of over 2500 care providers from around the country.

Representatives from four MRCs supported a panel discussion to introduce the national program to an audience of potential affiliates. Commander Robert J. Tosatto moderated the session, opening and closing the panel with key aspects of the national program, and sharing a brief video by Dr. Carmona.

Nancy Burns, UMV MRC coordinator, discusses public health emergencies.

 

Nancy Burns explained public health interventions, drawing on threat risks and responses in the Upper Merrimack Valley.

The MRC speakers at NDMS were Nancy Burns, Paula Martel, Robert Tosatto, Wendy Wilderman, and Linda Glaser.

 

 

 

 

Wendy Wilderman described the response of her unit to areas destroyed by the Florida hurricanes in 2004. Linda Glaser talked about her veterinary MRC in Minnesota. Paula Martel discussed a mental health deployment in Las Vegas.