THE STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE

Protecting our Residents in a Large Scale Health Crisis.

Do you know what would happen in a catastrophic event?

If a major natural disaster or technological accident were to occur or a terrorist were to attack somewhere in the Metroplex using a weapon of mass destruction (chemical, biological, or a radiological blast), the impacted counties and/or communities would have to act rapidly to protect their residents. In any public health emergency, especially if the infrastructure is disrupted, every counties’/communities’ health resources and services could quickly become depleted. In 1999, the US Congress, anticipating this situation, established the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) program. The program’s only mission is to stockpile and ship large quantities of essential medical items available to states, counties and communities during a public health emergency.

Your Public Health Department has a plan.

In the initial hours of an event, a SNS shipment could be delivered to the state(s) and then redeployed to the affected community(s) in 12 hours or less following the decision to ship the SNS.  The shipment would contain a broad range of materials that local health providers could use to protect hundreds of thousands of people.
The decision to use the Strategic National Stockpile could be based on:

• A Widespread Disease Epidemic (such as a pandemic influenza outbreak)
• A Natural Disaster (such as a serious weather related incident)
• A Terrorist Attack (such as anthrax or ricin)

How will the public obtain SNS assistance?

• Points of Dispensing sites (PODs) will be established
• PODs are large scale dispensing clinics designed to rapidly administer vaccines or provide pre-packaged medications to healthy individuals.

 What should you know about the medications in the SNS?

• All medications are free to the public
• There is enough supply in the SNS to protect everyone
• Federal, State, and Local Planners have pre-selected convenient sites for dispensing the SNS assets to everyone in an affected area.

 How will I know where to go to receive my medicine?

• Follow specific instructions provided by the authorities:
• Authorities will use television, radio, newspapers, internet, and other media sources to inform the public where and when to go for medication.