Spring 2019 disaster exercise a success, health officials say

May 6, 2019

Emergency managers and health officials expressed thanks this week following an exercise to assure local, state and federal agencies work together in the event of an emergency.

The Oregon Health Authority-sponsored disaster exercise "Operation OX" practiced how to quickly distribute antibiotics to treat people and prevent the spread of disease. The simulation used pneumonic plague in this exercise, and Trident gum as the antibiotic.

Operation OX, which ran from April 30 to May 2, was coordinated by the Health Security, Preparedness and Response Section at the OHA Public Health Division.

Multnomah County joined Oregon's 33 local health authorities and nine federally recognized tribes, the Oregon Health Authority and federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response.

The Oregon Health Authority is required to sponsor a full-scale exercise every five years and periodic exercises of medical countermeasures as part of the grant funding it receives from the federal government. The next full-scale exercise is currently scheduled for 2022 and will revisit a Cascadia Earthquake response. The next medical countermeasures exercise has not yet been scheduled.

"These exercises prepare state and local agencies to respond quickly and effectively to any disaster, be it a wildfire, earthquake or disease outbreak," said Akiko Saito, director of emergency operations at OHA. "Public health crisis exercises keep the skills of our staff and partners fresh."