As health professional employers, hospitals, clinics, and private practices, you are in the unique position to offer key resources in times of disasters and public health emergencies. Physicians, nurses, technicians, and counselors all provide desperately needed services and can provide critical aid if they have the flexibility to respond to an emergency quickly.

By encouraging your employees to register with ESAR-VHP, you are helping to ensure qualified medical assistance is available in times of crisis. Whether your facility is managing the crisis, or you are helping to provide key personnel to an incident, you will enable all health professionals to serve at their highest capacity.

If you are in the position of staffing an emergency, you organization will be able to request the help and specific skill sets you need to assist you and better serve the people in your community. State ESAR-VHP programs can then match the best volunteer candidate for the job. Specifically authorized personnel will be able to review:

• Identity and contact information
• Licensing information
• Credentials (training, skill level, competencies)

Champion Your Volunteers

Health professionals say they wish they could volunteer more often to help their community and lend their expertise in a crisis. One of the few things holding them back, however, is feeling guilty for leaving their colleagues behind with extra work. Another barrier is simply not being verified in advance of an emergency situation.

While it is difficult to manage an average day's workload when you are short-staffed, the positive experience for employees who are encouraged to volunteer is invaluable – both to the employee and the employer. Health professional volunteers say they come back to their job re-energized and focused on their broader mission of helping people. They feel more loyal to their employer and thankful for their day jobs. You can help to foster that kind of sentiment by encouraging your employees to register with ESAR-VHP!

In addition, when a health professional registers with their State ESAR-VHP program, they are positioning themselves for immediate deployment, should they be needed. As with any volunteer opportunity, they are not required to participate in a response if contacted. It is optional, so volunteers will have a chance to speak with their employers before accepting a deployment. However, your involvement and support is a critically important part of this program.

For more information on championing potential volunteers in your workplace, contact ESAR-VHP at esarvhp@hhs.gov.