BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The organizers of the POD, community preparedness drill wish to thank everyone who participated for helping them make the first-ever drive thru POD drill a success.
On Saturday, Oct. 15, Reita Newgard, Incident/POD commander, and a team of over 25 volunteers conducted a community preparedness drill and administered 427 doses of the flu vaccine in four hours. Immediately following the POD drill, Newgard and Community Health Nurse Brenda Keller and Vicki Hinton went to the high school volleyball games and door- to-door to local businesses administering an additional 125 doses.
In total, over 550 residents were vaccinated against influenza in a few short hours.
The purpose of the POD, or point of dispensation drill, was to train and prepare local community volunteers to respond in case of major emergency where a great number of people must be vaccinated or receive medication in a very short period of time. The drill was held in conjunction with Battle Mountain General Hospital's annual health fair.
The drive thru POD exercise was the first of its kind in rural Nevada. The drill required that volunteers receive training in and follow the emergency response structure established by FEMA. In preparation for the drill, nearly 100 members of the community received FEMA emergency response training.
The drill relied heavily upon the collaboration of local emergency response groups, including Nevada State Public Health Preparedness, Lander County Community Health, Lander County's Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), Lander County Sheriff's Office, Battle Mountain General Hospital, Lander County Search and Rescue, Battle Mountain Volunteer Fire Dept., American Red Cross-Northern Nevada Chapter, Lander County School District, Frontier Community Coalition, Bureau of Land Management and employees from Barrick, Newmont, Marigold and MI Swaco.
The drill was also supported by local businesses that furnished logistical supplies for the drill and/or refreshments for volunteers.
The drill not only contributed to the well being of the community by vaccinating over 500 people against influenza, but also showed how well prepared and well equipped Lander County is to respond to a major emergency or disaster. Afterward, volunteers met to discuss the success of the event and what areas were in need of improvement should a response be necessary in the future.
Overall, the group felt that the drill went very well, considering how many groups involved and that the volunteers were recruited spontaneously and provided with JITT (Just In Time Training) an hour before the POD opened. It was suggested that more directional signage would have been helpful for those coming from the Health Fair. It was also suggested that the public could have been better informed about the "No Walk Thru Policy." Buses were provided for seniors, those with disabilities and those arriving without transportation, but that service was added only a couple of days before the drill and not everyone knew about it.
"This was a learning process for all of those involved. We felt like we did a great job, all things considered. There are some areas which we could improve upon and hopefully, we'll have another opportunity to put what we learned into practice before an actual emergency," said Ami Rogers, the public information officer for the exercise.
For those that were unable to participate, Community Health Nurse Brenda Keller still has some flu vaccine available. There will be a $20 charge for flu shots while supplies last. Walk ins are welcome and appointments can be made by calling, (775) 635-2386.
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