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Wilkes-Barre uses flu clinic to test emergency plan

Times Leader - 10/14/2018

Oct. 14--WILKES-BARRE -- The Kistler Elementary School parking lot is usually empty on Saturdays.

But not this Saturday.

The city's Health Department used it to distribute free flu shots at a drive-thru clinic while also testing aspects of its public health emergency preparedness plan.

"The purpose of this exercise is that in the event we have to deliver medicine or vaccine, we can reach 20,000 people a day in an actual emergency," said Wilkes-Barre City Health Director Henry Radulski. "The process we have set up is very effective."

Should there be an actual emergency or crisis, the city's health department is notified of the emergency by the federal government. Officials then have 48 hours to distribute the medicine or vaccination they received from federal authorities, according to Radulski.

As part of the health department's preparedness plan, they opted to hand out flu vaccines to residents who participated in the exercise.

"Distributing the flu vaccine today is practically the same process as distributing other medications in case of an emergency," he said.

The health department had four timed checkpoints for drivers to go through during the exercise to receiver the vaccine.

At the first checkpoint, drivers signed in and a time was written down before they moved to the next checkpoint.

When drivers made it to the second phase of the exercise, they filled out a registration form to receive the vaccine.

During the third stage, the vaccine was handed to the driver by health department staff members. Once again their time was recorded.

The final stage was the vehicle's exit followed by a staff member who jotted down their exit time.

"The purpose of writing down the times of each vehicle at each point of the exercise is to determine how efficient we are in our after-action review," Radulski explained. "So far, it's roughly taken 10 minutes per car to complete all four stages."

Kistler Elementary and Dan Flood Elementary in the North End are the only two "points of dispensing" in the city, or pre-determined locations where medication is dispensed in case of an emergency or crisis.

"Kistler was chosen this year because we have to perform the exercise at each point-of-dispensing location," Radulski added. "We are actually ahead of schedule for 2019, having done the exercise at both locations."

Along with health department staffers, first responders were also on hand to assist with the drill.

Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes

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