RICHMOND, Va., March 26, 2020 - The Virginia Dental Association (VDA) recently put out a call to Virginia dentists to consider volunteering with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. The Virginia Medical Reserve Corps is a force of dedicated volunteers who support communities during public health emergencies. Governor Ralph Northam this week issued a call to all medical professionals who are able and willing to sign up as part of the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 around the Commonwealth.

Speaking about today’s call to dentists, VDA President Dr. Elizabeth Reynolds said, “Virginia dentists have the training to be able to support our communities during this public health crisis and I applaud the many who have already stepped up to help. Across the Commonwealth, dentists are donating their own scarce personal protective equipment and continuing to provide emergency care to patients to keep them out of hospitals, even while their small businesses are going through a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty. I encourage those who haven’t yet to consider volunteering with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps to apply their medical training to the massive effort it will take to fight this virus.”

Dentists can sign up for the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps here: https://vvhs.vamrc.org/ 

Dentists who are able to donate PPE, can go here for information on donation locations and to find a survey from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management of private businesses with protective equipment to donate: www.vadental.org/virus  

Earlier this week, the Virginia Dental Association Foundation donated masks, gowns, sanitizer and Caviwipes that were going to be used for donated dental care projects that have been postponed due to the spread of COVID-19, and VDA members around the Commonwealth have been organizing local donations to hospitals, nursing homes and other areas of need.

About the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps
There are 27 local Medical Reserve Corps units that are comprised of teams of medical and public health professionals. Hundreds of volunteers have already been deployed across Virginia to support COVID-19 response. Their duties have ranged from staffing call banks, helping with drive-thru testing sites, counting and distributing supplies, etc. Inactive and active medical professionals can be a volunteer. You do NOT have to have an active license to volunteer. All volunteers are deployed locally and will be asked to perform duties within their scope. 

You can sign up for the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps here: https://vvhs.vamrc.org/
Registering is all online and takes less than 15 minutes to complete. Each registrant’s application will be reviewed and undergoes a background check. Training is also online and specific to COVID-19.

About the Virginia Dental Association
The Virginia Dental Association is affiliated with the American Dental Association and has 3,900 members across the Commonwealth. The VDA’s mission is to represent and serve member dentists by fostering quality oral health care and education. The VDA provides continuing education, advocacy and practice support for its member dentists to further that mission. The VDA is marking its 150^th anniversary this year.