Volunteer Reception Center Staff Practices

Thursday, April 6, 2017, Washburn County became more prepared in the event that a Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) would need to be opened. The Washburn County Health Department and Emergency Management Department organized a “Disaster Volunteer Reception Center Training & Exercise” in Shell Lake. Multiple groups that make up the Volunteer Reception Center  (VRC) Management Team came together to learn and practice their skills.  Members include:  Public Health/ Mass Clinic Volunteers from Faith Lutheran, Spooner/Trego & Shell Lake Lion's Clubs and local HAM/RACES (amateur radio) operators.

The scenario was based on a tornado that had touched down in a highly populated area, causing extensive damage, leveling many buildings and distributing debris in many rural areas.  It was an assumption that 1500 to 3,000+ spontaneous volunteers would be coming to help with the cleanup and recovery operations; necessitating the need to manage all those people offering to help with clean up efforts.

In the event of a disaster, spontaneous volunteers will be directed to a VRC to fill out applications, get interviewed and screened, matched with a disaster volunteer task (debris removal, etc.), receive training, and finally receive a wristband and assigned to a disaster location.

There are many stations within a VRC, including greeter/registration, traffic controller, interviewer, runner, safety trainer and verification coordinator (exit volunteer). Simultaneously, there are phone bank operators taking in disaster-related volunteer opportunities; and assignment coordinators writing the opportunities up on poster sheets and placing them by the interviewers.

Emergency Management and the Health Department wish to thank all the VRC Staff for volunteering their time to attend periodic trainings and exercises to keep their skills current and for their dedication to emergency response missions.  We are small departments that will need help in a local disaster.  We count on our all of our volunteers to help us in our time of need!  A special thanks to the Northwest Wisconsin Health Care Coalition for sponsoring the training and lunch.