By Rickeena J. Richards
Belleville News-Democrat
Copyright 2008 Belleville News-Democrat
ST. CLAIR, Ill. — St. Clair County’s public health system gave a good performance during an emergency preparedness exercise Tuesday.
“Every time we do this, we get a little better and improve our efficiency,” said Karen Kunsemiller, director of personnel for the County Health Department.
The county conducted the test to determine how efficiently Strategic National Stockpile medication could be delivered and distributed in the event of a public health emergency, such as a bioterrorist attack or a large-scale disease outbreak. The test also focused on the county’s ability to set up dispensing sites at area hospitals and Scott Air Force Base.
“It enables us to test the plans so that it’s not just on paper, and to find out how many people can we put through a clinic in an hour and how much time it would take us to set up clinics,” Kunsemiller said.
The test, which lasted eight hours, was a simulation of an anthrax outbreak during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. St. Louis city and county also conducted tests, she said.
The exercise included a first-responder clinic, where police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and hospital and public health personnel receive medication so they can staff clinics and get medication to the public.
Volunteers gave out medication to more than 200 Scott personnel volunteers to simulate operations at a dispensing site.
Although official results are not yet available, Kunsemiller said some volunteers from Scott described the operation as “on time and well-organized,” and the volunteers as having a “positive attitude.”
“Coming from the military, we feel pretty good about that,” she said.
Kunsemiller said the County Board administers tests about twice a year in compliance with state requirements, which must be met in order to receive funding.
She said the federal government requires Strategic National Stockpile medication to be dispensed within 48 hours of its receipt, which she said would be “a real challenge” in St. Clair County.
“Our resources would be really stretched,” Kunsemiller said. “That’s why we’re recruiting volunteers from the community -- nurses, doctors, dentists, anyone who is willing to get training and register as a volunteer -- so we can mobilize them.”
The federal program is controlled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is designed distribute large quantities of medical items to the site of a national emergency within 12 hours.
Also participating Tuesday were the Sheriff’s Department, East Side Health District, Scott Air Force Base, Memorial Hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital and Touchette Regional Hospital.