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North Carolina utilizes database for disaster volunteers

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, June 7, 2007

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In the event of a disaster, it is critical for your organization to have a process for identifying and credentialing volunteers. And, while you need to credential volunteers quickly to be effective, you also need to do it correctly. If your disaster credentialing process isn't up to snuff, you might put patients at risk and open up your organization to negligent credentialing lawsuits.

There are resources available to help you properly credential volunteers in a disaster. The state of North Carolina, for instance, uses a voluntary online registry called SERVNC, reports the Asheville Citizen-Times, to maintain a database of volunteers and their medical credentials, including the following information:

• Contact information
• Deployment preference
• Medical history
• Occupation
• Skills

When a disaster does strike, the system can automatically search the database, alert volunteers to the situation, and dispatch them to critical areas. While such a system doesn't replace your organization's own credentialing process, a database of volunteers may make such a process more effective. To read more about this service, or view the site's FAQ, click here.

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