Emergency plan tested in Gardendale - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports
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The middle of an emergency is no time to figure out what works and what doesn't.
That's why emergency management crews and the Jefferson County Health Department practiced their emergency response in the event of a biological attack.
The exercise is designed for emergency responders and the health department to practice the procedures for dispensing medicine in the event of an aerosolized anthrax attack.
More than 300 people participated in the training session inside the gym of Gardendale High School.
It's called a "points of dispensing" exercise.
Participants went through various stations, creating a scenario of how medication would be dispensed in the event of a biological emergency.
Dr. Mark Wilson with the Jefferson County Health Department said, "We are, at the health department, the EMA, and other agencies are wanting to make sure our community is prepared for major disasters."
The test was done on a much smaller scale, but in the event of a real county-wide emergency, the distribution center would be at the BJCC.
The Jefferson County Health Department practices this exercise every few years and are graded on today's performance by Georgia Tech.
The health department has to have medicine distributed within the first 48 hours of an attack or bio-emergency.
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