A $10,000 Colorado Department of Health and Environment grant will pay for the initial startup costs of a new program being put together by the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association.

The VNA's new program entails gathering and training 40 to 50 volunteers from Moffat and Routt counties to serve on the Northwest Colorado Volunteer Reserves, a group that would assist first responders during local, regional, state and, in times of need, national emergencies.

"The program has been around for about three years in the state, but it's new for us in this region," said Steve Hilley, VNA emergency preparedness coordinator in Steamboat Springs.

The VNA will have training seminars this weekend for those interested. The training will take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Yampa Valley Medical Center.

Hilley said the VNA is seeking nurses, doctors, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, respiratory therapists and physical therapists, among other medical personnel to round out the reserve corps. However, Hilley added, medical and non-medical personnel will be accepted as volunteers.

The reserve corps would not be used as first responders, rather as assisting personnel during times of crisis.

"We would assist first responders," he said. "We wait until we're called, and we would be able to assist in whatever capacity is needed."

He said the reserve corps' primary areas would be in Northwest Colorado, but the volunteer group would be deployable to other locations if requested.

The $10,000 CDHE grant will pay for startup costs and supplies. The VNA is searching for additional funding to sustain the reserve corps, Hilley said.

For more information on the training, call Hilley or Diana Eilers at 879-1632.

If you go

What: Northwest Colorado Volunteer Reserves training

When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Conference room 1 at Yampa Valley Medical Center

• Attendance is required for one day only. For more information, or to register, call Diana Eilers or Steve Hilley at the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, 879-1632.

Joshua Roberts can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 210, or jroberts@craigdailypress.com.