Montgomery County Public Health District Prepares in Case Of County-Wide Emergency

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- Montgomery County Public Health District recently participated in a regional full-scale exercise to ensure its capability to handle a county-wide emergency. It is imperative the District is prepared to care for Montgomery County residents in an extreme circumstance in which a coordinated response to a public health emergency is needed.

An act of terrorism, infectious disease outbreak or major natural disaster may create a large-scale public health emergency that would require rapid access to large quantities of medicine and other medical supplies. Last week’s exercise tested the critical functions and response capabilities of MCPHD and regional partners within Department of State Health Service (DSHS) Public Health Region 6/5s to a simulated terrorist attack involving anthrax.

Some of the capabilities tested included Intelligence and Information Sharing, Emergency Operation Coordination, Medical Countermeasures (MCM), Public Information and Warning, and Volunteer Management. Evaluators from different disciplines observed the operations. Those evaluators are from agencies such as Texas Division of Emergency Management, U.S Marshals Service, U.S. Army National Guard (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Civil Support Team, and Austin Public Health Department.

An exercise involving the dispensing of medications was conducted in Montgomery with a group of MCPHD staff, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and student volunteers. These types of exercises are only possible when the community gets involved. We would like to give a special thanks to Montgomery County Hospital District for hosting and providing support with employees who participated in the exercise. We’d also like to thank our sponsors, McDonalds in Montgomery, Chick-Fil-A on 336 South, and Montgomery Independent School District and its volunteers.

Planning, training and exercising these emergency response plans will preserve and protect the health and lives of the citizens of Texas against a wide range of life-threatening risks.

Montgomery County Public Health District’s mission is promoting a healthy, resilient community through health education, disease prevention, clinical services, and emergency preparedness. For more information about the Montgomery County Public Health District please go to www.mcphd-tx.org.