A Flexible and Scalable Point of Dispensing (POD) Model for Response to Public Health Emergencies

Subsequent to a communicable disease outbreak or bioterrorism incident, public health emergency response will revolve around identifying the affected population, and providing prophylaxis to those affected or potentially affected by the agent.

Prophylaxis strategy revolves around the operation of Point of Dispensing (POD) sites. A POD site is a temporary mass dispensing site that is capable of providing medication to protect the general population from biological threats or epidemics.

Typical POD operational planning revolves around a set organizational structure and staffing level, which is loosely based on the principles of the Incident Command System (ICS) but does not take full advantage of the flexibility that is a cornerstone of ICS. Los Angeles County recently revised its POD model in order to create a flexible, scalable operation, based on standardized positions grouped into standardized teams. The staffing level can be scaled up or down based on the number of teams needed in the POD operation. Each POD site is considered its own incident, and each POD Manager is the Incident Commander at that site. This results in individual POD Managers having the authority to set the staffing level at their POD site, and to either request additional personnel or demobilize existing personnel to suit the needs of their POD.

Los Angeles County began with a POD model of 150 staff. Our new POD model includes flexible staffing that can range from a minimum of 46 to a maximum or 214 staff, with 76 staff being the average.