Pandemic flu exercise underway in Collinsville

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/480396.html

Pandemic flu exercise underway in Collinsville
News-Democrat

The Illinois Department of Public Health is holding a pandemic influenza tabletop exercise in Collinsville today and tomorrow.

The exercise includes local law enforcement officials, emergency management agencies, health care workers and hospitals and is designed to discuss county preparedness plans and ways in which the state will provide resources in the event of an influenza pandemic.

The exercise will also identify gaps or discrepancies in security plans and determine necessary plan revisions based on support capacity and capabilities.

Local counties participating in the exercise include: Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair, Bond, Calhoun, Green, Jersey, Macoupin and Montgomery.

[Shiloh]

Re: Pandemic flu exercise underway in Collinsville

Source: http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/481205.html

Posted on Wed, Sep. 24, 2008

Influenza pandemic planning tweaked; exercise looks at preparedness
BY JENNIFER BOWEN
News-Democrat

The Illinois Department of Public Health conducted a statewide pandemic influenza exercise Tuesday that continues today in Collinsville to discuss county preparedness plans and ways in which the state will provide resources in case of an influenza pandemic.

The training is being held at the Holiday Inn at 1000 Eastport Plaza Drive in Collinsville. Issues concerning Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph and St. Clair counties will be addressed in today's session.

"Illinois has become a leader in the nation for emergency preparedness efforts. Exercises like this test our ability to respond at the local level and strengthen the state's overall preparedness," Gov. Rod Blagojevich said. "We can identify our strengths and weaknesses during these exercises, build better partnerships and gain valuable knowledge to respond to emergencies."--

The exercise series provide an opportunity for local health departments, hospitals, local law enforcement and emergency management agencies to discuss security needs outlined in each county's community-based pandemic influenza plan. Additionally, the exercises will help identify gaps or discrepancies in security plans and determine necessary plan revisions based on support capacity and capabilities.

"These exercises will not only require a tremendous amount of coordination between state agencies, but also between the state and local level," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold said. "On the local level, we have trained with and depended heavily on coordination with local health departments and hospitals for dispensing medications during a pandemic flu. Now we will look at what security measures will be needed at hospitals and medical facilities during an emergency to ensure everyone safely receives the medical help they need to avoid mass chaos."-

The exercise series involves more than 1,400 participants, across 21 locations, and will look closely at 97 county pandemic response plans.

To reach the overarching goal of improving understanding of response plans and identifying areas for improvement, each exercise will focus on the following objectives:

? Identifying and discussing roles and responsibilities of the law enforcement community in responding to a public health event.

? Examining possible security missions in healthcare and public health response operations plans.

? Discussing risk communications and public messaging needs in responding to an influenza pandemic.

? Determining necessary revisions to the security sections of local emergency plans concerning law enforcement, hospitals and public health departments.

A report outlining corrective actions and an improvement plan will be created during the early months of 2009.