Examining New York City Hospitals’ Nonuse of Medical Volunteers in Disasters

To describe hospitals’ perceptions of the New York City Medical Reserve Corps (NYC MRC); clarify administrative, legal, and clinical obstacles to the use of NYC MRC volunteers; and identify possible strategies to overcome these barriers.

We administered an informational questionnaire to 33 NYC hospitals and conducted 2 facilitated discussion groups comprising 62 hospital representatives.

The most commonly reported hospital barriers to the use of MRC volunteers were concerns about the clinical competence of the volunteers, their lack of familiarity with medical technology used clinically in a hospital setting, and the potential for institutional liability.

Although the NYC MRC has the potential to assist the health care system in the event of a disaster, NYC hospitals will need clarification of the clinical and legal issues involved in the use of MRC volunteers for patient care.