Health Department & Local Agencies Practice Emergency Preparedness

Aside from providing vaccine to protect residents from the flu, there’s another reason the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department sponsors the Flu Shot Drive-thru and Clinic.

Nursing Program Manager, Kim Foster, said it’s a great opportunity for the department to partner together with other agencies to practice emergency preparedness. By offering a flu shot clinic, the department is able to test its ability to immunize a large number of people in the event of an actual public health crisis.

“We definitely could not pull something like that off on our own, so we utilize our staff and partners in the community to come together to make the event happen, and if there was a true outbreak or a true emergency we would have to do the same, so it’s a great way to practice,” Foster said.

The department works with a vast number of local agencies, including the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office and the Zanesville Police Department, to test its ability to communicate effectively and obtain proper documentation during an actual health emergency.

“There’s a lot of effort in the forefront that people don’t really realize, just organizing getting the partners together, getting all of the logistics in line to make the event happen,” Foster said. “The more we can practice, the better that we’re prepared if something would happen and we had to come together very quickly.”

This year, the department partnered with 15 agencies to organize the event:

Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office
Zanesville Police Department
Ohio State Highway Patrol
Zanesville Fire Department
Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency
Genesis HealthCare System
Genesis Community Ambulance
Mid-East Career and Technology Center
Muskingum County Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Muskingum County Fair Board
Muskingum County Information Services
Ohio University Zanesville
Zanes State College
American Red Cross- Muskingum Valley Chapter
Ohio Department of Health