Establishing Regional Operation Standards for Emergency Mass Prophylaxis

In December 2006, the Brookline Department of Health and Human Services (Brookline, Massachusetts) participated in the third annual regional flu clinic/Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS), full scale exercise. As the agency responsible of operations, local health officials from Brookline served in the roles of Operations Section Chief and Clinical Unit Supervisor. Local health officials from four neighboring jurisdictions (i.e., Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, and Watertown), filled command and general command staff positions. Together, the five local health departments planned and operated a clinic that provided influenza and pneumococcal vaccine to 600+ clients in two hours while exercising and evaluating several critical tasks and capabilities.

This presentation by the Operations Section Chief will describe how the operation was conducted. Attention will be drawn to how differences in clinical and clerical methodologies, routines, protocols, and supplies across the region needed to be balanced as resources were pooled. Utilizing ICS to make these operational decisions – as opposed to consensus decision ma for children, including dispensing of FluMist®, presented challenges for king – placed local health planners in a new and uncustomary role. Providing immunizations the Operations Section Chief in the form of pediatric nurse recruitment and Just-in-Time training needs.