June 1-2, 2005 — Staged at locations throughout the city, the
PODEX two-day field exercise was designed to test the City's distribution of
Strategic National Stockpile assets in the event of a bioterrorist attack.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of
Domestic Preparedness and hosted by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and
the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), PODEX tested the City's
point of dispensing (POD) plan in two phases. (Points of dispensing or "PODs"
are special clinics designed to rapidly distribute antibiotics or vaccines in an
emergency setting.)
A stockpile of antibiotics
awaits sorting and distribution at a point of dispensing (POD)
site.
Volunteer POD staff members prepare
antibiotics to distribute
to patients.
The two-day drill began as the City's health monitoring equipment
tested positive for anthrax. On the first day of the exercise, City officials
requested and received medical and non-medical supplies from the federal
government for PODs around the city, and trained supervisory POD staff from
DOHMH. On day two, exercise players were challenged to set up mock PODs to
distribute medications to affected residents and handle related security, public
information, and transportation issues.
The scenario: At the end of a concert in a New York
City Park, the crowd is showered with confetti. The following day, sensors
removed from the event location test positive for anthrax. By the next evening,
DOHMH has started receiving reports from several hospitals about a number of
patients showing signs and symptoms consistent with anthrax.
The exercise: Drawing participants from more than 15
City agencies and organizations, as well as several state and federal agencies,
PODEX focused primarily on emergency response coordination, critical
decision-making, and integration of federal, state, and regional assets.
Exercise players were challenged to manage multiple POD locations, handle
unsolicited volunteers, process several hundred patients, and provide accurate
information to the public. Participating agencies also assigned representatives
to the City's Emergency Operations Center to ensure a coordinated response to
the incident.
Exercise evaluators reviewed PODEX activities for command structure
efficiency, interagency communications, participants' awareness and
understanding of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive
hazards, and use of resources. PODEX evaluators also examined how well agency
response met Citywide Incident Management
System (CIMS) standards.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS:
American Red Cross in Greater New York
City University of New York
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Fire Department of New York City
FDNY - Emergency Medical Services
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
New Jersey State Police
NYC Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)
New York Cares
New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services
New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
New York City Department of Information Technology &
Telecommunications
