DeKalb County EMA and Department of Health Host Point of Dispensing Exercise

The DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency, DeKalb County Health Department, DeKalb County Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Upper Cumberland Regional Health Office are hosting a Point of Dispensing, or POD, exercise May 12 at the DeKalb County Community Complex. DeKalb County Emergency Services and volunteers with the DeKalb County Medical Reserve Corps will assist with the activity. The event is part of a larger middle Tennessee exercise in which PODs will simultaneously operate in three other regions to test our capability to work together to serve residents in a large-scale public health emergency.
Two possible POD sites have been selected by local emergency planners for use in the event of a situation requiring mass vaccinations or dispensing of medications to residents of DeKalb County. One is the Community Complex and the other is DeKalb County High School. In an emergency, people would come to the POD, fill out forms, ask questions and receive the recommended medications or vaccinations. This exercise will test DeKalb County’s capabilities to set up and operate the POD. The DeKalb County Health Department, along with staff members from other local health departments in the region, local law enforcement and emergency responders and the Upper Cumberland Medical Reserve Corps unit are responsible for staffing the POD sites.
The Medical Reserve Corps unit is community-based and functions as a way to organize and use local volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Volunteers supplement existing public health resources and include medical and public health professionals such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians and epidemiologists. The MRC also includes other community members such as interpreters, chaplains, office workers and legal advisors who fill vital support positions.
Individuals interested in joining the Medical Reserve Corps and participating in this exercise should contact, Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator Dawn Hickey at (931) 520-4208.