SNS Exercise Successful

       
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Highlighting the importance of emergency preparedness, the Missouri Department of Corrections recently participated in the Missouri Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) City Readiness Initiative Full-Scale Exercise. The training exercise took place on March 18, 2008, at the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Jefferson City. The exercise was organized by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS).

The Center for Disease Control’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) has large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public, if a public health emergency was severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. Examples would include earthquakes, a terrorist attack and a flu outbreak. The exercise scenario at SEMA dealt with a possible public health emergency in St. Louis.

"It is rewarding to know the Department of Corrections plays such an important role in assisting with the distribution of the Strategic National Stockpile," Department Emergency Preparedness and Workplace Violence Coordinator Michelle Kasak told the Horizon. "We are instrumental in supplying masses of citizens with life saving medications within hours of learning of a situation. Exercising our response assists in making this type of coordination possible."

Kasak, Employee Health and Safety Coordinator Julie Ives and Chief Public Information Officer Brian Hauswirth represented Corrections at the exercise. Kasak and Ives handled phone calls and updated computer information on SEMA's floor. Kasak worked at the Emergency Support Function (ESF) along with the Highway Patrol and the Water Patrol. Ives worked in Logistics, while Hauswirth was in the Joint Information Center (JIC), where he updated the floor on incoming calls and news releases that were being prepared and sent out.

DHSS also had observers on the floor and in the JIC, monitoring the response and the ability of staff members to obtain updated, accurate information.

"The exercise was a great opportunity to identify gaps in communication which is vital in emergency response," Kasak said. "Overall, the exercise was a success and a learning experience. All agencies that participated worked well together and gained a sense of camaraderie."

Other Department employees who participated in the event include Fiscal and Administrative Manager Martha Shea, Employee Health and Safety AOSA Donna Meller and Probation and Parole District 8N Officer II Glenda Laws. They assisted with the SNS, providing simulated life-saving medications and hospital supplies in the exercise.

DHSS operates a Receiving Staging and Storage (RSS) site, where the DOC employees reported to bring in the SNS supplies, store them, break them down and distribute them to local public health agencies and hospitals. DHSS calls on other state agencies for support services and personnel so the RSS can perform its important, large-scale operation.

St. Louis Community Release Center (SLCRC), Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC) in Pacific and Missouri Vocational Enterprises also participated by transporting simulated supplies/equipment to the RSS site.

In addition to DHSS, DPS and Corrections, numerous other state agencies participated: Missouri Department of Social Services, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Mental Health, Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri Highway Patrol, Missouri Water Patrol, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri National Guard, Missouri Department of Agriculture and SEMA.

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