Public health agencies host emergency exercise at Ski-Hi

MONTE VISTA— Anyone who has ever wondered how the San Luis Valley would handle an emergency pandemic situation, rest assured that the local public health agencies and emergency services are well-prepared to distribute medication. A mock point-of-dispensing (POD) site was held at Ski-Hi Park Saturday morning, in which volunteers, public health officials, medical professionals, behavioral health representatives and many others from the San Luis Valley Regional Emergency Operations Center (EOC) practiced dispensing medication in response to a fictional respiratory illness. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s epidemiologists created a realistic scenario in which a respiratory disease had 821 cases and 49 deaths statewide with 25 cases in the San Luis Valley and four deaths. The POD site tested their ability to respond to the situation and several potential hazards that would come with it.
The exercise actually began on Thursday, with public health agencies statewide creating regional transfer points to collect mock medication, most importantly securing it and transferring it to the POD sites. According to a SLV Emergency Preparedness and Response (SLVEPR) press release, “On Thursday, San Luis Valley Health practiced procedures for dispensing preventative medication of over 600 doses to about 215 households at Conejos County Hospital and SLV Regional Medical Center to ensure healthcare workers and first responders would be protected and available to do their jobs in a real emergency. On Friday, Valley Wide Health Systems Alamosa Family Medical Center conducted a similar mock exercise that served 285 individuals. Also on Friday, public health agencies from Alamosa, Conejos and Costilla counties came together to hold an exercise, with the help of many community volunteers, to practice dispensing preventative medications to the public in a mock setting in Alamosa.”
SLVEPR Coordinator Linda Smith and Rio Grande County Commissioner Suzanne Bothell led a tour of Saturday’s events in Monte Vista. Smith stated, “This exercise started at the state level and is the culminating work of a five-year planning cycle… It’s a good opportunity to look at our plans and see ‘how are we actually going to make this work?’” The agencies completed a functional exercise a year and a half ago that was not on the same scale as this one, but they took the lessons learned and utilized them for this exercise. Six public health agencies helped conduct the Alamosa and Monte Vista exercises, “we have had an amazing response from volunteers to staff these PODS,” Smith added.
Attendees who entered the POD were asked to read a list of respiratory symptoms at the front door and could not enter if they were experiencing any listed. They then met a friendly table of about six registrars who again asked them to check the symptom list before giving them a form to fill out which asked for the attendees’ names, addresses and some health questions about potential allergies to medications. The form, based on the “head of household model” ensured attendees could also collect medication for family members, friends, neighbors or others who could not come themselves, as long as they could fill out the questions on the form. The form was completed at a second station with about four volunteers on hand to provide assistance. They were then directed to a third table, where another six volunteers took their forms to screen them with an overlay to determine which medication to dispense, by what methods and any special instructions. After having the form checked, attendees were sent to the medication table with another six volunteers where they received their mock doses of Ciprofloxacin in appropriate doses as well as instructions on how much to take or give to other family members and a list of possible side effects. The medication bottles were placed in a black plastic bag and given to attendees once they signed their form.
The POD also had a regional epidemiologist, Ginger Stringer, whose primary job is tracking the disease and “providing support for what’s on the ground.” There was an incident command station with Saguache County Emergency Manager Jim Felmlee and Rio Grande County Emergency Manager Jerry Dennis. Rio Grande County Public Health Director Emily Brown was also coordinating resources among all of the stations, acting as an operations manager. San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group also had several representatives on hand. Clarissa Woodworth explained they were there to help with any fear or anxiety people would be dealing with in a high stress situation, trying to get medication for their families and because many people generally have problems in large crowds as well. “If people were really dying of this infectious disease, we would be providing grief counseling and referrals to other services as well,” she added. SLVBHG employees go through special trainings to respond to events on the scale as the POD. Bilingual POD staff were also available as needed.
When asked what the time span was to get people through the POD, Smith explained that the primary goal was to ensure the population of the county was served within 48 hours, but pointed out that time could vary if more than one course of medication was needed. Saturday’s POD focused on how many people could get through in an hour. Rio Grande County Commissioner and volunteer Gene Glover reported that the entire Monte Vista Fire Department had gone through the POD that morning and it took them roughly seven minutes for all 20 to make it through the process. The volunteers and staff dealt with many different test scenarios, including a visit from Frankenstein, who health professionals stated appeared a little green but wasn’t experiencing respiratory symptoms, hostile attendees demanding medication and citizens who called in, unsure of what information to send. Many familiar faces from local healthcare services and agencies were seen volunteering at the event, including Rio Grande County Administrator Roni Wisdom, Vista Care and Jack’s Market Pharmacy owner Bryan Salazar, several members of the Monte Vista Ambulance Service, Alicia Deacon and Donna Segura from the Rio Grande Inn and many others. Overall, the event was successful and an excellent test of the resources needed to respond to a real infectious disease.


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