The exercise was a “Drive-Thru Point of Dispensing” (POD) in which the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided antibiotic-training bottles that were dispensed as if there had been an anthrax exposure involving a large number of people, said First Selectman Mike Tetreau.
With participation from the Fairfield Police, Fire, Public Works, and Recreation departments, the Health Department staff, along with volunteers from the Fairfield Easton Medical Reserve Corps and the Fairfield Community Emergency Response Team, set up and then operated the POD in May.
“This exercise was another opportunity for the Town of Fairfield and our Health Department to practice emergency preparedness procedures to be better prepared to serve and protect the residents of Fairfield,” Tetreau said.
The primary goal of the exercise was to train to and practice mass dispensing procedures in order to be better prepared in the event of a real life emergency.
Those driving through the exercise and assisting in other roles included staff from area health departments.
Other participants included the Fairfield-Easton MRC, Fairfield CERT, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Fairfield town employees, Westport Weston Health District, Naugatuck Valley Health District, Chesprocott Health District, Stratford Health Department, Stamford Health Department, Bridgeport Health Department, Milford Health Department, Greenwich Health Department, Norwalk Health Department, Wallingford Health Department, Darien Health Department West Haven Health Department and many more.
For more information, contact Fairfield's Health Educator Santina Galbo at 203-256-3150 or sgalbo@fairfieldct.org.
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