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Strategic National Stockpile
August 11, 2003 |
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Archived webcast from
Jun 24, 2004 |
Mass Antibiotic Dispensing: A Primer
This webcast provides Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) planners with an overview of the critical aspects of a mass dispensing operation. |
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On this page:
Helping
State and Local Jurisdictions Prepare for a National Emergency
An
act of terrorism (or a large scale natural disaster) targeting the
U.S. civilian population will require rapid access to large quantities
of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Such quantities may not be
readily available unless special stockpiles are created. No one can
anticipate exactly where a terrorist will strike and few state or
local governments have the resources to create sufficient stockpiles
on their own. Therefore, a national stockpile has been created as
a resource for all.
In
1999 Congress charged the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with
the establishment of the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS).
The mission was to provide a re-supply of large quantities of essential
medical materiel to states and communities during an emergency within
twelve hours of the federal decision to deploy.
The
Homeland Security Act of 2002 tasked the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) with defining the goals and performance requirements
of the Program as well as managing the actual deployment of assets.
Effective on 1 March 2003, the NPS became the Strategic National
Stockpile (SNS) managed jointly by DHS and HHS. The SNS Program
works with governmental and non-governmental partners to upgrade
the nation’s public health capacity to respond to a national
emergency. Critical to the success of this initiative is ensuring
capacity is developed at federal, state, and local levels to receive,
stage, and dispense SNS assets.
A
National Repository of Life-Saving Pharmaceuticals and Medical Materiel
The
SNS is a national repository of antibiotics, chemical antidotes, antitoxins,
life-support medications, IV administration, airway maintenance supplies,
and medical/surgical items. The SNS is designed to supplement and
re-supply state and local public health agencies in the event of a
national emergency anywhere and at anytime within the U.S. or its
territories.
The
SNS is organized for flexible response. The first line of support
lies within the immediate response 12-hour Push Packages. These
are caches of pharmaceuticals, antidotes, and medical supplies designed
to provide rapid delivery of a broad spectrum of assets for an ill
defined threat in the early hours of an event. These Push Packages
are positioned in strategically located, secure warehouses ready
for immediate deployment to a designated site within 12 hours of
the federal decision to deploy SNS assets.
If the
incident requires additional pharmaceuticals and/or medical supplies,
follow-on vendor managed inventory (VMI) supplies will be shipped
to arrive within 24 to 36 hours. If the agent is well defined, VMI
can be tailored to provide pharmaceuticals, supplies and/or products
specific to the suspected or confirmed agent(s). In this case, the
VMI could act as the first option for immediate response from the
SNS.
Determining
and Maintaining SNS Assets
To
determine and review the composition of the SNS Program assets, DHS,
HHS and CDC jointly consider many factors, such as current biological
and/or chemical threats, the availability of medical materiel, and
the ease of dissemination of pharmaceuticals. One of the most significant
factors in determining SNS composition, however, is the medical vulnerability
of the U.S. civilian population.
The
SNS Program ensures that the medical materiel stock is rotated and
kept within potency shelf-life limits. This involves quarterly quality
assurance/quality control checks (QA/QC’s) on all Push Packages,
annual 100% inventory of all Package items, and inspections of environmental
conditions, security, and overall package maintenance.
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Supplementing
State and Local Resources
During
a national emergency, state, local, and private stocks of medical
materiel will be depleted quickly. State and local first responders
and health officials can use the SNS to bolster their response to
a national emergency, with a 12-hour Push Package, VMI, or a combination
of both, depending on the situation. The SNS is not a first response
tool.
Rapid
Coordination & Transport
The SNS
Program is committed to have 12-hour Push Packages delivered anywhere
in the U.S. or its territories within 12 hours of a federal decision
to deploy. The 12-hour Push Packages have been configured to be immediately
loaded onto either trucks or commercial cargo aircraft for the most
rapid transportation. Concurrent to SNS transport, the SNS Program
will deploy its Technical Advisory Response Unit (TARU). The TARU
staff will coordinate with state and local officials so that the SNS
assets can be efficiently received and distributed upon arrival at
the site.
Transfer
of SNS Assets to State and/or Local Authorities
DHS
will transfer authority for the SNS materiel to the state and local
authorities once it arrives at the designated receiving and storage
site. State and local authorities will then begin the breakdown of
the 12-hour Push Package for distribution. SNS TARU members will remain
on site in order to assist and advise state and local officials in
putting the SNS assets to prompt, and effective use.
When
and How is the SNS Deployed?
The decision
to deploy SNS assets may be based on evidence showing the overt release
of an agent that might adversely affect public health. It is more
likely, however, that subtle indicators, such as unusual morbidity
and/or mortality identified through the nation’s disease outbreak
surveillance and epidemiology network, will alert health officials
to the possibility (and confirmation) of a biological or chemical
incident or a national emergency. To receive SNS assets, the affected
state’s governor’s office will directly request the deployment
of the SNS assets from CDC or DHS. DHS, HHS, CDC, and other federal
officials will evaluate the situation and determine a prompt course
of action.
Training
and Education
The
SNS Program is part of a nationwide preparedness training and education
program for state and local health care providers, first responders,
and governments (to include federal officials, governors’ offices,
state and local health departments, and emergency management agencies).
This training not only explains the SNS Program’s mission and
operations, it alerts state and local emergency response officials
to the important issues they must plan for in order to receive, secure,
and distribute SNS assets.
To conduct
this outreach and training, CDC and SNS Program staff are currently
working with DHS, HHS agencies, Regional Emergency Response Coordinators
at all of the U.S. Public Health Service regional offices, state and
local health departments, state emergency management offices, the
Metropolitan Medical Response System cities, the Department of Veterans’
Affairs, and the Department of Defense.
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