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October 9, 2007
Little Rock -- Today, Emergency Preparedness planners from federal, state and local agencies and hospitals statewide rehearsed what they would do in the hours and days following an actual terrorist attack involving anthrax. The exercise was designed to help planners exercise protocols, especially for the distribution of medicine to people who might be affected all over the state. The exercise evaluated the capability of participating agencies to receive and rapidly distribute medication across the state using regional distribution centers, evaluated the hospitals’ ability to understand the state’s Mass Distribution Plan and execute with proper personnel, and tested communications systems and operational abilities.
“Whether it’s anthrax or Avian Influenza, the threat to the public is one that we must be prepared to meet with well-planned action,” William L. Mason, MD, Preparedness and Emergency Response Program Chief at the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) said. “The opportunity to practice our response in a simulated exercise could possibly make the difference between life and death if events like these were to occur in Arkansas.”
The exercise focused on the delivery of drugs stored at the Strategic National Stockpile location in Arkansas to eighty-six (86) participating hospitals in every part of the state as quickly as possible. The Arkansas National Guard actually delivered Amoxicillin during the drill to the hospitals to demonstrate that real medications could be transported safely if need be.
CDC's Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) has large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public if there is a public health emergency (terrorist attack, flu outbreak, earthquake) severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. Once Federal and local authorities agree that the SNS is needed, medicines will be delivered to any state in the U.S. within 12 hours. Each state has plans to receive and distribute SNS medicine and medical supplies to local communities as quickly as possible.
The exercise included a wide range of public and private partners: the Arkansas National Guard, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences School of Pharmacy, eighty six Acute Care Hospitals (see attached listing), the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the ADH Emergency Medical Services Department, local law enforcement agencies, and State and local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs).
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