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Louisiana hospitals participate in federal bioterrorism drill

Emergency Management Alert, March 23, 2004

Louisiana hospitals participated last week in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Strategic National Stockpile drill to test the state's preparedness for a biological event, the Louisiana Hospital Association reports.

At the beginning of the week, two to five "patients" began arriving at hospitals with simulated symptoms from a biological agent. Within 24 hours, individual hospitals were testing their emergency response plans. The need for additional personnel, treatment areas, and medical equipment triggered the statewide emergency response plan.

 
Test results pointed to the plague, triggering a simulated request and receipt of the Strategic National Stockpile from the CDC, which delivered a 12-hour "push pack" of simulated pharmaceuticals.

The exercise involved all partners in the state's emergency preparedness system and the CDC Stockpile program. Fewer than 12 states have attempted the CDC drill and fewer than five have successfully completed it, says Erin Downey, LHA director of emergency preparedness.

Louisiana will know in a few weeks whether it successfully passed the test, she says.

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