HISD schools to host three distribution sites

The Texas Department of State Health Services will host an exercise Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in the Houston area to test the ability of state and local partners to work together to provide medical supplies during an emergency.

The exercise focuses on the distribution of medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile, a store of large quantities of medicine and other items that can be deployed quickly to help protect the public in an emergency. Three HISD campuses — Jones, Scarborough and Westside high schools — will serve as distribution sites on Saturday, Nov. 2, the final day of the exercise.

Exercise activities may include the movement of large trailers, law enforcement vehicles and volunteers across multiple sites in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers and surrounding counties. These activities are for exercise purposes only and do not represent a real emergency.

Formally called the Regional Allocation, Dispensing, and Distribution Strategic National Stockpile Full-Scale Exercise, the event will test public health and hospital preparedness during a mock widespread public health emergency. The exercise will include coordination with 19 regional and local health agencies, 50 hospitals and 17 dispensing sites.