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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Leah M. Matteson, RN, MS, CNS, Bioterrorism Epidemiology Program, New York State Department of Health, Room 678 Corning Tower, Albany New York, NY 12237, 518-486-2151, lmm20@health.state.ny.us

Public Health Nurses (PHNs) must acquire skills necessary to respond to a range of emergency situations. Events that require opening Points of Dispensing (PODs) provide little time for orientation and training. Training must begin before emergencies occur. Exercising PODs provides an opportunity for PHNs to gain knowledge and demonstrate competencies in roles PHNs will fulfill during emergencies. During PODs, many Public Health Nursing roles mirror those performed at influenza vaccination clinics. The New York State Department of Health planned and exercised a large-scale influenza vaccination POD to test capacity to provide mass prophylaxis to a targeted population (state employees). This exercise provided an opportunity to educate and train 67 PHNs in various roles (e.g., vaccinators, screeners, flow controllers) performed at PODs. Core Public Health Worker Competencies for Emergency Preparedness and Response (Center for Health Policy, Columbia University School of Nursing) were used as the basis for this training. The Incident Command System (ICS) was utilized during this exercise. This provided an opportunity for PHNs to gain knowledge and competencies related to ICS. PHNs were educated one week prior to the exercise and had just-in-time training review of their roles the day of the exercise. PHNs were provided with detailed job action sheets (JAS) during the training, and at the exercise itself. A post-exercise survey showed that all 67 PHNs were satisfied with the training they received. The systematic process of using ICS and JAS during a POD exercise provides PHNs with the ability to develop skills and maintain competencies applicable to a range of emergency situations. Using POD models to implement annual immunization clinics will allow PHNs to continue to sustain their competency in emergency preparedness roles.

Learning Objectives: