Medical Emergency Training Brings NorCal Officials To Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Public health professionals, law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders recently gathered in Santa Cruz to train and plan for an event that would require mass distribution of medication, the County of Santa Cruz announced Monday. The two-day training course at Cabrillo College was provided by Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services to local and regional partners from Santa Cruz, Marin, San Benito, San Francisco and San Mateo counties; partners from the California Department of Public Health and the California Office of Emergency Services also participated, according to the announcement.

“It was a great opportunity to partner with the County of Santa Cruz and work with the local teams in building our partnerships for emergency response,” said Charlotte Girroco, medical countermeasures coordinator for the California Department of Public Health.

During the course, participants gained skills on how to efficiently complete a request for mass medications and set-up staff dispensing sites at community facilities, according to Santa Cruz County officials. Disease outbreaks such as measles, hepatitis A and H1N1 influenza have swept across the nation creating a need for mass medication and distribution to the public, officials said. Trainings such as this assist in preparing public health staff to be ready to deploy and meet the needs of the local community, according to officials.

“Santa Cruz County Public Health Emergency Preparedness was delighted to bring local and regional partners from several medical-health disciplines together to train and prepare for all-hazards prevention and response to disease outbreaks," said Santa Cruz County Emergency preparedness manager Kathleen Conley. "We appreciate that TEEX was able to provide this valuable training at no cost to the local community.”