MRC and ASPR TRACIE Strengthen Partnership to Boost State and Local Preparedness
ASPR’s Office of Medical Reserve Corps (OMRC) and Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) are collaborating on a one-stop knowledge center that strengthens State and local resilience. This new hub will host resources that Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit leaders and volunteers can use as they work to fill gaps in their community’s emergency preparedness, response, and recovery operations.
Under Executive Order 14239, “Achieving Efficiency through State and Local Preparedness,” the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is evaluating existing programs and resources to ensure State and local partners are resilient in the face of disasters. Response starts locally; communities understand their specific needs and can react immediately to emerging threats.
Once the new hub launches, users will have easy access to curated tip sheets, operational tools, courses, and exercises. This information will specifically benefit MRC units. The TRACIE Team will expand the existing Resource Library and 58 Topic Collections with new content targeted for unit leaders and volunteers. ASPR TRACIE will also develop a dedicated MRC page with links to original materials, such as planning considerations, guidance documents, and speaker series recordings. This new page will allow registered users to save favorites and select training courses to complete at their own pace.
I encourage MRC volunteers to join the ASPR TRACIE Information Exchange (IE). Membership will allow you to connect with your peers and participate in near-real time conversations about anticipated and ongoing health threats; share plans and other materials; and discuss promising practices. All of the conversations in the IE section take place in a secure, password-protected environment. The IE also offers a private group feature for subgroups of users, allowing them space to discuss sensitive topics and share plans and documents that cannot be shared with the broader IE community. OMRC and ASPR TRACIE will create several private groups for MRC leaders, units, and volunteers, beginning with one for state coordinators.
As always, if your MRC unit needs help, reach out to askasprtracie@hhs.gov and ask the question.
ASPR TRACIE and OMRC have shared goals: to serve, inform, and protect the nation. What will users get when these two programs work together? A powerhouse of partnership, aimed at putting actionable information in the hands of state and local residents, bolstering community resilience. ASPR continues to strengthen State and local capabilities and this hub is just one way to access information and strengthen planning.
As we prepare to launch this new resource this spring, the ASPR TRACIE and OMRC teams continue to collect materials for the new library. If you have a resource that your Medical Reserve Corps unit has used to help you prepare for disasters, respond effectively, or increase resilience, contact askasprtracie@hhs.gov.
About the Medical Reserve Corps
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of 268,000 dedicated volunteers, organized locally in more than 700 units to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC recruits, trains, and activates volunteers to respond to community health and safety needs during emergencies.
In 2024 alone, MRC volunteers dedicated over 300,000 hours of service in the communities they serve, filling critical gaps in local health care systems. For example, MRC volunteers provided CPR training to other MRC volunteers and community members; supported the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday and other National Security Special Events; and responded to emergencies, including the flooding in Washington State, the flooding in Texas, and the Shooting at Brown University. To find out how MRC made a difference in your community, check out the 2024 MRC Activities and Impacts by State or Territory.
About ASPR TRACIE
ASPR TRACIE is a one-stop shop, to support access to information and technical assistance (TA) needs of health care coalitions, and health care entities and providers, emergency managers, public health practitioners, and others working in disaster medicine, health care system preparedness, and public health emergency preparedness. The team responds to TA requests during steady state and during response operations and has developed more than 550 resources to fill emergency preparedness knowledge gaps.
Over the last decade, ASPR TRACIE has become the go-to resource for health care emergency managers across the country. TRACIE assists more than 70,000 CMS providers/suppliers with meeting the requirements of the Emergency Preparedness Rule and accrediting organization standards. During disaster and public health emergencies, ASPR TRACIE serves as a virtual force multiplier, improving information access and minimizing duplication of effort.
