Editors’ Expressions: Volunteering With the MRC

Just a few weeks ago, I was still taking the bustling commuter train to work out of Philadelphia, hopping on the subway to visit friends or the Temple University EMS headquarters, and patronizing tightly packed music venues and restaurants.

On March 27, on my way to my job as a volunteer EMT with the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) at the South Philadelphia COVID-19 rapid drive-through testing site, all of those routine activities seemed so far gone, so out of reach for what feels like will be an indefinite period of time. Under Mayor Jim Kenney’s shelter-in-place orders, Philadelphia’s sidewalks are empty, the city’s traffic-ridden main strip of Broad Street is freed up, and the subway is eerily quiet. Only one other person boarded the train headed for the sports complex—unheard of for Philly on a Friday afternoon—and by the time I arrived at the NRG Station stop, I was the only person left, and exited onto another empty platform.

Ascending the stairs from the cool, dark underground out into the wide-open expanse of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex under a sunny, blue sky offered a much-needed reprieve from weeks of self-quarantining in a Center City studio where I’m surrounded by skyscrapers and little green space. When I approached the police barricade at the entrance of Citizens Bank Park’s parking lot where the testing was taking place, I was given a surgical mask and gloves before being allowed entry.

An MRC coordinator assigned me to one of the tents where we collected data from people in their cars, windows rolled down to eye level, licenses and insurance cards held up to the glass. Interacting with humans in-person rather than on FaceTime was another welcome reprieve—I always enjoy the company of MRC volunteers and enjoy using my volunteer EMT skills. I rarely meet the same ones twice, but our shared desire to help others creates immediate solidarity; we interact like we’ve known each other for years, guiding each other with our respective expertise and cracking jokes during downtime (You’ll often hear, “Do you guys know each other?” to which the answer is almost always, “Nah, we just met today.”).

When I arrived in the early afternoon, long lines of cars waited to be screened by the first of three sets of tents before being directed to the second for data collection. My team of four executed a seamless process to ensure accurate logging of their information (specifically phone numbers so they could be reached with their results)—one volunteer read aloud the individual’s information, two of us recorded it on separate papers and another recorded it electronically on an iPad before asking for additional clinical and background questions. The car would then be directed to the next tent by the runner who brought patients’ paperwork to volunteers garbed in full PPE taking nasopharyngeal swabs to be sent off for testing, which was free and didn’t require insurance.

Some patients weren’t symptomatic but knew they’d been exposed and were fairly optimistic, while others rolled up in surgical masks displaying symptoms, and you could read the anxiety in their eyes. Either way, we kept our brief interactions with patients lighthearted to ease any fears, asking about their day and wishing them well on their way out.

The Philadelphia MRC operates under the national MRC, run by the Office of the Surgeon General, and is comprised of more than 2,500 volunteers who offer their service at large-scale events and during public health emergencies¹. Its members hail from diverse backgrounds, both clinical and non-clinical; though many of them work in healthcare, public health, EMS (volunteer or paid) or other related fields. I’ve volunteered as an EMT at events like the Philadelphia Marathon and the Made in America music festival where the MRC works alongside the Philadelphia Fire Department in the medical tents (at the testing site, we provided support to the U.S Public Health Service).

Every time I volunteer as an EMT with the MRC, I’m reminded of how many people want to contribute something good to the world. This event was no different, displayed by the large group of volunteers willingly exposing themselves to potentially infected patients, many of whom thanked us for our volunteerism before driving away. If any of this sounds intriguing to you, visit their website to find your local chapter—the opportunity to build a community with likeminded people while helping others, together, is invaluable.      

Valerie Amato, NREMT is associate editor of EMS World. Reach Val at vamato@emsworld.com.

References

1. Philadelphia Medical Reserve Corps (MRC): Department of Public Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.phila.gov/programs/philadelphia-medical-reserve-corps-pmrc/