Schools asked to help in Emergencies

as published in Texas City Sun 01/23/04
By Lora Bernard

Health district officials are in the process of asking school districts officials if they would be willing to offer gymnasiums and other large facilities as dispersal centers in cases of community wide health emergencies.

The Texas City Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution Tuesday to allow the Galveston Health District to use district facilities.

Trustees approved the resolution as part of the consent agenda during their regular meeting. They will meet with health district officials in coming weeks to discuss specifics and create a memorandum of understanding.

Other school districts in Galveston County are expected to consider similar requests in coming months, said Brian Rutherford, public health planner.

Agreements with school districts to use facilities in the case of public health emergencies, such as bioterrorism acts or infectious disease outbreaks, can help public officials disperse large amounts of medicines and vaccines quickly to the community, Rutherford said.

This is the first time Galveston health district officials have asked local school districts to let them use facilities in cases of widespread public health emergencies.

“We are working on a pro-active program in the event that we might have to disperse large amounts of medicine or vaccine to the public,” Rutherford said.

Schools are prime locations for dispersal centers because their locations are well known to residents and they offer large areas, such as gyms and auditoriums that can accommodate residents at one time.

They also have refrigerators, clinic areas and restrooms, which are important during the event, Rutherford said.

It is not uncommon for health districts to request schools to work alongside each other in the event of a public emergency. The Texas Department of Health, where Rutherford once worked, has been known to develop similar agreements with the school district, he said.

“We used school districts and it worked well,” he said.

Agreement details will include whether the district would agree to let health officials use such items such as chairs, tables and audio-visual equipment as needed.

Additionally, health officials will likely ask if school staff members would be willing to serve as volunteers.

Community members are also asked to serve as health district volunteers in the case of a widespread emergency. A database is being created now, Rutherford said.

“Of course we’d need nurses, pharmacists, emergency medical services,” he said. “But we also need people to hand out forms and distribute information.”

Call (409) 938-2275 to discuss becoming an emergency public health service volunteer.

For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org