Emergency Preparedness

During some public health emergencies, the St. Johnsbury Local Health Office will set up a site where medications can be distributed to the community. The site, called a “point of distribution” or POD site, helps the Health Department get medicine to people who need it as quickly as possible.

We are arranging partnerships with private distribution sites. This allows an organization to distribute medicine to their own employees and their families. We are interested in working with community partners, both public and private, who would like to become a pre-arranged distribution site. If there is a public health emergency, this will allow distributing medicine to employees and their families to prevent infection or disease. This helps to safeguard business and organization continuity.

Are you a large local business or organization interested in becoming a distribution site? Contact our office at 802-748-5151.

• In partnership with the Northeast Kingdom Vermont MRC, we offer classes on Stop the Bleed, Cold Weather Preparedness, Warm Weather Preparedness as well as general emergency preparedness information. Classes are free of charge and have been presented at local schools and businesses.
• We provide support and participate in hospital preparedness with the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), help exercise hospital plans and serve on the NVRH Emergency Preparedness Committee.
• We serve on the county’s Local Emergency Preparedness Committee. We attend meetings throughout the county to provide assistance and answer questions about data, health department initiatives and resources, and emergency preparedness from a public health standpoint.
• We maintain agreements with community partners to ensure that mass clinic space is available on short notice in times of disaster or public health emergencies.
• We provide presentations to first responders, health care agencies and schools on public health emergency preparedness.
• We ensure our staff is trained and ready with needed equipment if called upon to support a public health emergency.
• We conduct emergency preparedness exercises. Led by a local office staff member, these scenarios allow our staff to run through hypothetical public health emergencies. We practice taking steps to notify the public, set up clinics and distribute medications and vaccinations.

Our Emergency Preparedness Team also supports the Northeast Kingdom Medical Reserve Corps. This program organizes and trains volunteers in a structured manner should the need for additional medical or non-medical volunteers arise. Learn more about the Medical Reserve Corps.

We collaborate with state and local partners to educate our community on how to safely and effectively prepare for emergencies. Here is a list of partners:

• Vermont 2-1-1 - Check Vermont 2-1-1 for information on cooling shelters, cold weather information and many other community resources.
• Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital