EAST LAKE C.E.R.T.
Community Emergency Response Team
"The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number"
Emergency Management has received word that the Department of Health (DoH) would like to utilize CERT volunteers for mass dispensing operations. I have included information below, regarding the on line training that is available for CERT members. Suzanne Dekay, State of Florida Department of Health, is the local point of contact and can be reached via email at: Suzanne_Dekay@doh.state.fl.us.
Each CERT member may take the course titled Mass Dispensing Sites – A Primer for Volunteers, on his/her own time and will need to include their email address and a password to sign on to the University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness website for training. The U. of M. School of Public Health 'Center for Public Health Preparedness' has developed the on-line training course for volunteers that will work in mass dispensing PODs. The course provides a positive discussion on issues such as family preparedness, liability, purpose and explanation of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), sample layout of a POD and patient flow options that would not be covered in “just-in-time” training and takes a great deal of time in presentations. The training even prompts the volunteer through a self-assessment form on what jobs the volunteer could attend and there are Job Action Sheets for the POD positions.
Please see the course description from the U of M website below:
To access the course, go to the following page and register as a new user by using your email address and a password:
https://cpheo1.sph.umn.edu/massdisp/index.asp
You will receive a confirmation email, must left click on the URL in the confirmation note.
This training course is designed to provide an overview of the general operations of mass dispensing sites and serves as an orientation for individuals who may be asked to work in those sites during an emergency. It is intended to complement “just in time” training provided on site at the time of deployment. Volunteers such as CERT members and others including public health staff may find this training beneficial. Your volunteer coordinator may request that you provide her/him with your completed volunteer assessment form and course certificate to be maintained as part of your training record. Participants are eligible to receive a certificate upon completion of the training, including pre-test, post-test and evaluation.
Learning Objectives - Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be able to describe:
- The important role that volunteers will play in a large public health emergency.
- Key issues that volunteers should understand in advance of an emergency and where additional information on these issues can be found.
- Why mass dispensing is a national priority for planning, training, and exercises.
- How the federal Strategic National Stockpile, or SNS, fits into overall public health emergency response.
- Challenges to operating mass dispensing sites.
- Basic site design and patient flow in a mass dispensing site.
- The types of positions that must be staffed for effective operation.
- The command structure used to manage sites.
This project was developed by the University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness supported in part through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number U90/CCU524264. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.
* Please note that a mass dispensing operation will be used only during a large scale medical incident and medications will be dispensed to those who are well to prevent them from becoming ill and not to people who are already sick.
We hope that CERT volunteers will take advantage of this training opportunity that can benefit our community in an emergency and thank them in advance for taking the time to do so.
Thank you.
Jan Walker
Emergency Management Specialist
400 S. Ft Harrison Ave., Room 023
Clearwater, FL 33756
phone: 727-464-3235
fax: 727-464-4024
cell: 727-647-0851
radio: 161*23815*183
jwalker@pinellascounty.org