MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Department of Health officials say they are working to better organize a volunteer network of retired medical professionals to help staff upcoming COVID-19 vaccination sites.
The news comes following mounting questions from retired professionals who say they're looking to volunteer, but are struggling with where to turn.
David Parker, a retired physician from Minneapolis, spoke to KARE 11 about his concerns with the state's handling of volunteers on Wednesday. In a letter to the Star Tribune, he urged leaders to accelerate organizing efforts so qualified people can be put to use when the time comes.
"I had reached out early on in the pandemic through an organization in Hennepin County," Parker said. "But I never heard anything."
It turns out, Parker should have reached out to the county health department across the Mississippi River.
"We currently have about 400 volunteers," said Hilary Zander, who manages the Medical Reserve Corps, MRC, for Ramsey County Public Health. Zander says they started recruiting retired doctors, nurses and pharmacists as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response back in April.
"By May, we had folks working with our community partners on drive-up testing sites in St. Paul," Zander said. "We had people making masks. We had people sorting informational or educational material that we then used at different testing sites."
Zander says they're now expanding the MRC focus to helping staff mass vaccination sites. She believes they'll be ready to deploy whenever the state sees an increase in doses.
Kent Erdahl: "Is there any kind of vaccination priority for those volunteers?"
Zander: "Our (licensed) medical volunteers who will be working our vaccination sites, have opportunities to get vaccinated. As vaccine becomes more available, we're hoping to open that up to our other volunteers who will be working as well."
Ramsey County isn't the only local health department with an MRC. The reserve corps is actually a federal program with 784 units across the nation. There are 25 units listed in Minnesota, but they all tend to be organized differently.
"I think the state has really handed it off to the different counties throughout the state," Zander said. "So it's up to each county to determine how they would like to use their MRC."
The state does have a single website, MNresponds.org, where qualified volunteers can go to sign up.
Zander: "Once you create a profile, depending on which county you are part of, that county will reach out to you with additional training steps and other kind of onboarding."
Erdahl: "We've heard from some volunteers that they've reached out in their county and they just haven't heard anything. Any suggestions for them?"
Zander: "There's been a huge response, which we really appreciate, and so many counties are strapped with COVID and figuring out how to best allocate resources in the response. It does take a while to sort through those applications. If you don't hear anything, you can always try another county, if you live nearby to another one and see if they are able to accept you."
Erdahl: "Does Ramsey County take people from outside counties?"
Zander: "We do, yep, but our (volunteer) commitment we're asking for is twice a month. Ideally, once a week, so if they live really far away that just might not be an option for them."
But if it is an option for you, Zander says don't give up, especially if you still have an active medical license.
"I think they'll be hugely important," Zander said. "We had so many volunteers working at our testing sites. They put in over 15 hundred hours over the summer, working to do these roles that are super important to make these sites run smoothly."
In an email to KARE11 late Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health said it is in the process of finalizing plans for a vaccinations unit within the MN Responds Medical Reserve Corps structure, which would more centralized at the state level. More details are expected in the coming days.