Activating a Point of Distributing Site in Genesee County

Abstract

The Emergency Preparedness Program is a program inside of the Genesee County Health Department that works with public and private agencies to ensure effective and efficient responses during a public health emergency. During a public health emergency the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) can announce a public health emergency and activate Point of Distribution (POD) sites throughout each county. The purpose of a POD site is to administer medicine, such as vaccines, and medical supplies to healthy members of a community with the intention to decrease the number of potential infected citizens and to prevent death. POD sites use local emergency service personnel, government employees, and volunteers to activate and run a POD site. The purpose of the POD site is to get as many citizens through the site in the least amount of time as possible. On April 30, 2018 there was a tabletop exercise at Grand Blanc High School which was attended by the Grand Blanc City Fire Department, the Grand Blanc City Police Department, the Grand Blanc Township Fire Department, the Grand Blanc Township Police Department, the Genesee County Health Department, the Red Cross, the Genesee County Emergency Manager, and Grand Blanc Community School staff. The purpose of this tabletop exercise was to educate and unite the community on how to work together and best serve the community during the activation a POD site. The three-hour tabletop exercise included a PowerPoint presentation and discussion. After the tabletop exercise, an evaluation survey was handed out, as well as, emailed out to everyone that attended the exercise. This survey had specific questions that correlated with the objectives of the tabletop exercise, and the responses were used to analyze the effectiveness of the exercise and any changes that need to be made. Qualitative and quantitative data obtained from the responses to the evaluation survey indicated that there were some weaknesses and that all the set objectives for the tabletop exercise were not met. After analyzing the data, and completing the After Action Report (AAR), there were two main weakness that were focused on: the agencies involved were not aware of who would be notifying them and whom they were supposed to notify and what precisely the roles and responsibilities would be for each agency. The implementation plan that was created as part of the AAR shows the steps that will be taken to make sure that all of the objectives will be met and that to accomplish the overall goal of educating and uniting community partners to work together to best the serve the community during an activation of a POD site. A phone tree and a roles and responsibilities table were created and added to the protocols of activating a POD site at Grand Blanc High School. These educational materials will be given to the agencies that were present at the tabletop exercise before the fundamental exercise.