OCHD holds POD Exercise at SUNY IT
-->By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: December 18, 2012
Oneida County's Health Department held an exercise Monday to test their response capabilities in the aftermath of an anthrax event.
As a apart of the County's Emergency Preparedness planning, SUNY IT was the scene of a Point of Distribution or POD Drill this afternoon.
Volunteers played the roles of victims, undergoing "decontamination" while responders provided medical treatment.
"We haven't had an incident since shortly after September 11th where there were some anthrax incidents in the country. Our goal today is to treat as many as 200 people in 1 hour... but in this case 50 people in fifteen minutes," said Ken Fanelli of OCHD.
The Health Department says these exercises give the county a better understanding to identify critical resources needed in a real-life event.
