Harrison County prepares itself for pandemic

From the The Herald

CADIZ — Those throughout Harrison County are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst, as state and local officials came together on Wednesday to conduct a pandemic flu exercise, should an outbreak ever occur.

Eric Wilson, bioterrorism response and training coordinator for the Harrison County Health Department, along with Bud Touvell, disaster preparedness representative for the health department, are the ones who designed the exercise.

Wilson explained a flu pandemic is when a global outbreak of a disease occurs because a new influenza A virus appears in the human population that can cause serious illness and spread easily from person to person.

Should a pandemic ever occur in Harrison County, Wilson and Touvell want to be ready so they can provide the necessary assistance to area residents.

On Wednesday, health and emergency officials set up three sites in order to test their response plan.

The Emergency Operations Center was set up within the county government center, while a point-of-distribution site, manned by the Medical Reserve Corps, was established at the Harrison Career Center. The Wallace Lodge in Sally Buffalo Park was the location for a Volunteer Reception Center, a place where anyone wishing to donate their skills in a time of crises could go to offer their qualifications and wait to see just where they could be the most help to others.

Inside the career center, those with the Medical Reserve Corp were waiting to aide what would potentially be 15,800 Harrison residents, should a flu pandemic happen.

To receive the proper treatment and quickest care, Carol Infante, the health department’s director of nursing, provided a walk-through of the route individuals would take upon arrival.

Infante stated the career center would become a mass vaccination center, with everyone pre-registering at a desk set up at the door. A nurse at the desk would provide a screening and intake on each patient, which is then followed by either the patient being routed to a waiting room or to the secure wireless inventory and pharmaceutical emergency response system area.

The secure wireless inventory and pharmaceutical emergency response system is a wireless and portable technological solution that streamlines the collection of vaccination administration and pharmaceutical distribution data, according to Infante. The system gives the patient a label with a bar code embedded on it. Once entered into the system, patients will visit the vaccine clinic, who scans the label with the patient’s information.

“Runners” are located in the hallway telling the patients where to go, Infante noted. A sick bay/triage is located directly across from the vaccine clinic, should a patient be infected with the symptoms of a disease such as the small pox, officials stated.

“The purpose of the exercise is to ascertain and evaluate the level of preparedness and ability of local agencies and jurisdictions to coordinate and collaborate on an incident such as that outlined in the exercise scenario,” officials stated. “Therefore, the intention of the exercise is not to evaluate the actions of individual participants, but to attempt to discover planning and preparedness gaps and needed improvements for a satisfactory county response.”

Touvell said, “The functional exercise would incorporate vaccinations on emergency personnel since they are the first line of defense.”

“The (Medical Reserve Corp) will give vaccinations based on a progression of the pandemic flu, which will be to the point of where we have to inoculate first responders and their families,” Touvell added. “That would be the first phase in vaccinating everyone.”

Others who participated in the exercise included local emergency crews and Harrison Community Hospital, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, regional health officials and epidemiologists, the county senior center, Rural Transit and the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development volunteers.

Officials also noted additional help on Wednesday came from the Department of Job and Family Services, Child Support Enforcement Agency, the Carriage Inn of Cadiz, county Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the Ohio State University Extension Office, McDonald’s, the American Red Cross and the Community Emergency Response Team.

“We thank all of the agencies and participants for their help,” Touvell concluded. “If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to meet needs in the future for a catastrophic event such as this.”