Health agencies role-play in mock disaster

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is coordinating a joint emergency response Strategic National Stockpile exercise at 9:30 a.m. at Central High School, 423 E. Central.

More than 20 health agencies – including St. John’s Health Systems, CoxHealth and Skaggs Community Health Center in Branson – will participate in the role-playing drill, where they will practice receiving, repackaging and distributing mock medical supplies across the region.

The federal government established the Strategic National Stockpile program to deliver large quantities of medical items to the site of a national emergency within 12 hours. In the event of a national crisis, health agencies will be prepared to distribute the pharmaceuticals, antidotes, vaccines and other medical supplies.

Helping lead the exercise will be Julia Eckstein, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services; Paul Fennewald, Missouri’s homeland security coordinator; Tom Carlson, Springfield mayor; Harold Bengsch, Greene County District I associate commissioner; Kevin Gipson, director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department; and Norm Ridder, superintendent of the Springfield R-12 School District.

See SBJ’s June 19 for more health care news.