The county health department ran threat preparedness exercises to practice its response to a public health emergency, such as a bioterrorism attack or a disease outbreak.
A key part of this work was the point of dispensing, or POD, where people would gather to get medicine in a short time. Health department staff and trained public health volunteers took part in these drills. Volunteers could serve as POD staff, interpreters, educators or supply managers.
The health department also worked with state agencies on closed PODs for state employees. The first opened at the Capitol Complex in 2014, and drills in 2019 practiced sites at the Capitol, the Lottery headquarters and the Department of Environmental Protection. The model was built for an anthrax incident but could serve other emergencies.
See volunteering for emergency preparedness.