It is an alarming scenario, but the reality is that a public health emergency can strike at any time.  That is why it is important for communities to be resilient—to actively plan and prepare for emergencies so they are able to bounce back quickly and efficiently after a disaster.

As part of the Center for Disease Control’s goal for local health departments to build more resilient communities, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), Uncas Health District and Northeast District Department of Health are looking for individuals 18 and older that would be interested in helping the community during a public health emergency to participate in a mass dispensing training on Saturday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Groton Senior Center.

The training will include presentations from FBI Special Agent Daniel Coleman and Alan Boudreau, Strategic National Stockpile Coordinator at the CT Department of Public Health. The presentations will be followed by an interactive tabletop exercise.  Lunch will be provided for all volunteers.

“This is an interactive way for people to experience the set‐up of a mass dispensing area in the event of an emergency,” says Kris Magnussen of Old Lyme, Supervisor of Communicable Disease Prevention at LLHD.  Magnussen said the exercise would be scenario‐based to help people think critically and work together to make decisions about what to do in various situations.

Ledge Light Health District is the lead for Mass Dispensing Area 37 that covers Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Waterford, New London, Ledyard, Groton, Stonington and North Stonington.  Volunteers from these towns are needed to help staff points of dispensing known as PODS (clinics) in the event of a public health emergency requiring dispensing of medication to the population.

You do not need to have a medical background to volunteer, just an interest in helping your community in the event of an emergency.

To register, contact Kris Magnussen at 860‐448‐4882 ext. 331 or download and fill out the form on our website at llhd.organd email it to kmagnussen@llhd.org or fax it to 860‐448‐4885 by Wednesday, March 20.

For more information, visit www.llhd.org.