Dr. Jim Vanzant guest speaker at Board of Realtors' meeting
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Highland County Health Commissioner Dr. Jim Vanzant was the guest speaker at the June 23 meeting of the Highland County Board of Realtors at the Hillsboro Ponderosa Banquet Center.
Dr. Vanzant, a McClain High School and Ohio State University graduate, was introduced by Peggy Hite and discussed public health emergency preparedness, particularly in the post-9/11 era.
He also discussed the local, state and federal response plans in the event of a biological attack.
"Since Sept. 11 (2001), a lot of our job is to be prepared for a biological agent type of threat," Vanzant said. "Since we do not have major highways or mass transportation, we have to assess where the people are and how we can get to them quickly."
Vanzant said the health department has a plan of action that includes local township trustees and that the county is divided into seven areas based on population and geography. In the event of an emergency, health officials and trustees would be ready to dispense antibiotics within a 24-hour period, Vanzant said.
"That's what they expect us to do," he said.
Vanzant said the trustees involved with the public health emergency preparedness response would be meeting again in July or August.
He also discussed the nation's Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The Center for Disease Control's Strategic National Stockpile maintains large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public if there is a public health emergency (such as a terrorist attack, flu or other disease outbreak, earthquake, etc.) severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.
Once federal and local authorities agree that the SNS is needed, medicines will be delivered to any state in the U.S. in time for them to be effective. Each state has plans to receive and distribute SNS medicine and medical supplies to local communities as quickly as possible, according to the CDC.
For more information, go to http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/stockpile.htm.
• Rodney Donley and Robert Schaad of National Bank and Trust Company also spoke to the Board of Realtors and discussed NB&T's "bank at work" program.
NB&T sponsored the Thursday luncheon.
For more on NB&T, go to http://www.nbtdirect.com.[[In-content Ad]]
Dr. Vanzant, a McClain High School and Ohio State University graduate, was introduced by Peggy Hite and discussed public health emergency preparedness, particularly in the post-9/11 era.
He also discussed the local, state and federal response plans in the event of a biological attack.
"Since Sept. 11 (2001), a lot of our job is to be prepared for a biological agent type of threat," Vanzant said. "Since we do not have major highways or mass transportation, we have to assess where the people are and how we can get to them quickly."
Vanzant said the health department has a plan of action that includes local township trustees and that the county is divided into seven areas based on population and geography. In the event of an emergency, health officials and trustees would be ready to dispense antibiotics within a 24-hour period, Vanzant said.
"That's what they expect us to do," he said.
Vanzant said the trustees involved with the public health emergency preparedness response would be meeting again in July or August.
He also discussed the nation's Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The Center for Disease Control's Strategic National Stockpile maintains large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public if there is a public health emergency (such as a terrorist attack, flu or other disease outbreak, earthquake, etc.) severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.
Once federal and local authorities agree that the SNS is needed, medicines will be delivered to any state in the U.S. in time for them to be effective. Each state has plans to receive and distribute SNS medicine and medical supplies to local communities as quickly as possible, according to the CDC.
For more information, go to http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/stockpile.htm.
• Rodney Donley and Robert Schaad of National Bank and Trust Company also spoke to the Board of Realtors and discussed NB&T's "bank at work" program.
NB&T sponsored the Thursday luncheon.
For more on NB&T, go to http://www.nbtdirect.com.[[In-content Ad]]