Prince William Health District To Hold Emergency Preparedness Exercise at Costco

Sign up for the Woodbridge Patch newsletter!

Release: Prince William Health District

Volunteers are needed to test how fast life-saving medication can be distributed to the public in the event of an emergency. In an emergency, everyone in an affected area would pick up medicines at designated points of dispensing (PODs).

The Prince William Health District (PWHD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host a test program at 7 a.m. Thursday, June 4, at the Costco at the Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge, before the store opens for business. This pilot program is designed to test the ability of large “big-box” retailers, such as Costco, to be used as public points of dispensing medications in the event of an emergency.

At least 200 volunteers are needed to go through the process of picking up a supply of medicine (empty bottles are being used in the exercise). Volunteer participation should take about 20 minutes, and it includes a free hot breakfast for everyone who participates.

Volunteers are asked to:

• Register ahead of time at www.prepareprincewilliam.com to be sure we have enough hot breakfast food for everyone who participates.
• ALL volunteers should arrive at 7 a.m.; there will be NO entries after 7:30 a.m.

The Prince William Health District serves residents of Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

For more information, visit http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/LHD/PrinceWilliam. You can also follow the Health District on Twitter @PrinceWilliamHD or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PrinceWilliamHealthDistrict.