A training session scheduled in Princeton Tuesday night as part of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security’s Citizen Corps program will offer community members a chance to ready themselves and their families for disasters and emergencies, while also offering training for a medical reserve program to assist medical and emergency officials in their public response to crises.

The Citizen Corps training is open to the public and will largely mirror a training session held here in January at the Area 2 State Fire/Rescue Training Center, where the new training is also scheduled.

The major difference in Tuesday’s training session is that it will include information regarding the Medical Reserve Corps program, a locally-driven program that allows members of the community to offer their time and skills to medical and emergency personnel.

The goal of the program, said Pennyrile District Health Department Director Raymond Giannini, is the development of a volunteer staff “to assist first responders and healthcare workers in the event of a disaster or some degree of major event.”

If the area experienced a flu pandemic, for example, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers could assist in administering treatment.

“We’d need help to get that done in a timely manner,” said Laura Croom, the health department’s public health preparedness coordinator.

Both professional staff and operational staff volunteers would be utilized in the event of an emergency requiring widespread medical care, she said.

In addition to the Medical Reserve Corps training, the session will also offer information on other aspects of disaster preparedness, including awareness of events that may affect the region, how to create a family emergency plan and how to assemble a household disaster supply kit.

Presenters at the program will include Giannini, Princeton Fire Chief Brent Francis and State Fire/Rescue Training instructor Wesley Lynn.

The program is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the fire training center on U.S. 62 West and is open to the public. A meal will be served, and registration is required.

To register, contact Amy Frogue at the Pennyrile Area Development District in Hopkinsville at (270) 886-9484 or e-mail amy.frogue@ky.gov.