On April 29, 2016, Egyptian Health Department, along with its community partners, will be conducting a Full Scale Strategic National Stockpile Exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to test Egyptian Health Department’s emergency preparedness plan to receive and distribute medications in an emergency event. Due to the ever present potential for the spread of infectious disease through natural events or terrorist activities, Egyptian Health Department is required by the State of Illinois to test these capabilities on a regular basis.
The Exercise will be held at Carmi-White County Jr./Sr. High School. Actors will portray community members coming to the clinic to pick up medications for themselves and their families. Egyptian Health Department employees as well as employees of Jefferson County Health Department and volunteers with the Egyptian Medical Reserve Corps will practice both the set-up of a clinic and determine what the hourly throughput could be to treat community members in an actual event.
According to Egyptian Health Department Public Health Director, Jamie Byrd, “Back in 2009 we experienced an outbreak of H1N1 along with the rest of the country. At that time we were able to quickly and efficiently immunize school children as well as the citizens of Saline, Gallatin, and White Counties through multiple clinics. Exercises like the one coming up on April 29 keep those skills fresh for our employees in the event of another similar or more widespread outbreak. We appreciate the school as well as our community partners assisting us in this endeavor.”
Funding for this exercise has been provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Emergency Preparedness Grant, through the Illinois Department of Public Health.
