TN: Bioterror, Medicine Delivery
Drill to test delivery of medicine in emergency
07/11/05
By Lauren Gregory, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer
The bombings in London’s Underground on Thursday were a tragic reminder of why U.S. officials must keep emergency preparedness drills on their minds.
Public agencies in Rome and Floyd County are no exception. In fact, said Floyd County Health Department Nurse Manager Pat Townley, local public health officials have been planning one particular response exercise the past year and plan to test it for the first time this month.
The health department will be closed Tuesday and Thursday, July 21, so employees can train for and participate in an interstate homeland security exercise with Bartow County health officials and officials from the state of Tennessee, Townley said.
The exercise, one of the first in the nation to test collaboration between two neighboring states, is designed to ensure that large-scale distributions of medication are possible if a public-health problem large enough to deplete local supplies were to emerge.
“This could be anything from a terrorist attack to a flu outbreak to an earthquake,” Townley said, “and it requires using the CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile.”
The Strategic National Stockpile is a national repository of antibiotics, chemical antidotes, antitoxins, life-support medications, IV administration, airway maintenance supplies and medical/surgical items, according to Northwest Georgia Public Health spokesman Logan Boss.
The SNS can supplement and re-supply state and local public health agencies anywhere and at any time within the United States or its territories, Boss added.
The goal for Floyd County, Townley said, is to be able to utilize those national resources to medicate all 95,000 Floyd County residents within 72 hours.
The July 21 drill would be the first test of the local system, Townley said, and for that reason “it’s important to get community involvement.”
In order to make the drill a success, the health department needs 500 volunteers to participate, she said. All ages are invited, she added, although those younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Volunteers should report to Armuchee High School on July 21 at either 9:30, 10:30 or 11:30 a.m. and be prepared to stay between 30 and 45 minutes. Potential participants can call Mary Stephens at 295-6123 with questions or to pre-register to volunteer.
