KHI NEWS SERVICE
TOPEKA, Sept. 6
Kansas is well-prepared to distribute drugs and medical supplies in the event of a public health emergency, according to a review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment received a rating of 93 percent from the CDC for its ability to effectively distribute resources from the Strategic National Stockpile, a federal repository of drugs and medical supplies that can be quickly deployed in an emergency.
“These results demonstrate that Kansas is in a good position to distribute and dispense needed medical resources in response to an emergency, such as a bioterrorism incident or pandemic influenza,” said KDHE Secretary Roderick Bremby, in a prepared statement. “Protecting the health and safety of Kansans is our main goal, and we can never be too prepared. Still, we are quite pleased with this outcome.”
The state is responsible for receiving the stockpile”s supplies, repackaging them, and distributing them to local health departments, which dispense them to the public.
KDHE and the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments have identified Strategic National Stockpile preparedness as one of its top priorities, said Mindee Reece, director of KDHE”s Center for Public Health Preparedness.
“A public health emergency will stretch the capabilities of numerous agencies, and that is why we will keep on striving to improve through training, drills, and exercises,” Reece said. “Local health departments and hospitals are often the first line of defense, and we must continue to work together to assure that life-saving medications and medical supplies are available when needed.”
Local preparedness plans are a crucial component in distributing resources from the stockpile, said Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino, associate director of Public Health Systems for the Kansas Health Institute.
Although progress continues to be made, the level of preparedness across the state is not uniform, Reece said.
“Some of the local health agencies are continuing to develop their plans to receive and dispense antibiotics, and this state, regional, and local effort continues to be one of our highest priorities,” she said.
“Broadly speaking, our preparedness is only as good as the weakest link of the chain,” Pezzino said.
Representatives from the CDC visited the state this summer to evaluate the state”s plan, including:
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The location of warehouses for storing and distributing the stockpile”s drugs and supplies;
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The state”s ability to recruit volunteers and conduct exercises and training drills;
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Changes made in the last year to the state”s plan.
One major change was the development of a “unique” plan that would deploy pharmacy students to areas with few licensed pharmacists to help repackage bulk medications into smaller quantities for community distribution, Reece said.
Though the state”s rating has improved, Reece said, it”s difficult to measure the improvement because the CDC has changed its scoring system from a color-based system
red, amber, green
to a numeric score.
Last year, Kansas” rating was “amber-minus.” If the color system were still in use, Reece said, the state would have a “green” rating, meaning a strong overall preparedness rating.
“The CDC said this was an impressive improvement within the last 12 months,” she said.