VW health officials work on preparedness

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

What happens if a serious epidemic or other catastrophe strikes Van Wert County? Most of the health departments and hospitals in northwest Ohio grappled with that scenario during an exercise held this week.

The reason for the exercise, according to Van Wert County Health Department officials, is to test various capabilities for both hospitals and public health departments in the event of a major epidemic or other disaster, with an emphasis on fatality management, medical surge and getting information to the public in a timely manner.

After a morning spent dealing with a scenario that involved the spread of a serious virus in northwest Ohio, County Health Commissioner Dr. Paul Kalogerou held a news conference on Wednesday as part of the public information portion of the exercise.

Afterward, he spoke with the media to provide some information on the exercise. Dr. Kalogerou noted that the exercise was very realistic, so much so that, even though they knew it was not real, health officials responded to the scenario.

“At the beginning, okay, we’re walking through it, but as we all got involved … we were living and feeling it – the adrenaline was going,” he noted.

Hospitals and health departments in 18 counties were involved in the exercise in one way or another, with information coming in from the Ohio Health Department on a regular basis as the exercise unfolded.

A regional health official was also on hand to monitor the exercise and providing suggestions for improvements that could be made on a local level.

That’s the primary goal of the exercises, which are done on an annual basis, Dr. Kalogerou said, noting that health officials try to make sure they can respond properly to a medical disaster within the community.

As far as the viral epidemic included in the exercise, Dr. Kalogerou said there was “a fine line” for residents when dealing with such incidents, and recommended that local residents stay home when there are no symptoms or symptoms are minor, while those showing major symptoms should seek treatment.