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Opportunities to Get Involved

Leadership Opportunities

We are currently in need of additional physicians to serve as officers and on committees. If interested, please contact FBMS President, Dr. Rajesh K. Bindal by calling (281) 313-0031 or via email at rbindal@aol.com.

The Medical Reserve Corps

Fort Bend County is rapidly growing and as a community, it needs to be prepared for emergencies. Consider a mass vaccination program where 300,000 vaccination packs have to be distributed to the residents of our county – do we, as the medical community of our county, have a plan? Fortunately, the Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Public Health Preparedness Team does. First some background information.

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State-of-the-Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. The MRC is a partner program of Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Citizen Corps, along with the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Peace Corps are all part of the President’s USA Freedom Corps, which promotes volunteerism and service throughout the nation.

Homeland Preparedness Project, a local non-profit organization (www.homelandpreparedness.org), has partnered with Fort Bend County Health and Human Services to develop the capabilities of the Medical Reserve Corps. The MRC works by creating MRC units which are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers, medical professionals and others who want to donate their time and expertise to promote healthy living throughout the year and to prepare for and respond to emergencies. MRC volunteers supplement existing local emergency and public health resources. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists. Other community members, such as interpreters, chaplains, office workers, and legal advisors, can fill other vital support positions.

Bill Ray, Executive Director of Homeland Preparedness Project, has a vast background in law enforcement, disaster management, and search and rescue. However, for the Fort Bend County MRC Unit to be successful, he needs physician volunteers. If you are interested in taking on this challenge and serving your community, some basic training will be necessary:

• A Three-Hour Training Course
• Two Incident Command Systems Classes (IS-100/700)
• One Training Exercise per year
• A Refresher Course every 2 years

There is much more to the MRC Units such as Strategic National Stockpile Points of Distribution and Medical Surge Staffing. However, let’s join forces and form a strong MRC Unit in Fort Bend County. Please contact Paul Loubser, M.D. at loubser@windstream.net or (713) 301-8823 for more information and details about volunteering for the MRC.

Bill Ray may be contacted at bill@homelandpreparedness.org or (281) 844-3653.