Set-up

Set-up Space

After notifications of a major health emergency have gone out to Push Partners, your business would begin activating it’s Push Partner Plan, which would include setting up the area where staff and/or family members will systematically rotate through to get medications and information about the disease and the medication provided to protect them from infection.

There are FOUR main considerations to the set-up of a Push Partner POD:

Health and Safety:

In a life-threatening public health emergency the health department is expecting that the need for medical licenses to distribute antibiotics will be waived so that the non-licensed persons (i.e. business Push Partner staff) can quickly distribute emergency medications. However, precautions need to be taken to assure health and safety standards are met. This includes the general safety of co-workers and staff working in and going through the Push Partner POD as well as ensuring that our Push Partners follow any protocols given by the health department for safely distributing emergency medications.

Staff Roles:

Here are the three main roles that need to be filled to run a Push Partner POD:

  1. Push Partner Business Coordinator: This person is an employee of your business or organization who maintains contact with the Health Department and is responsible for the overall Push Partner effort in your organization.



  2. Distribution/Screening: This person will review the medication screening form and distribute medications to staff and their families. This role may be split into two roles with one person reviewing the screening form and the other person distributing the medication bottle/packet. Multiple people can work to review the screening form and to assist with distributing the medications, with a Lead in charge of the station, in order to speed up the process.



  3. Inventory Tracking: This person documents all medications and staff members who have received their medications. This information will be turned over to the health department when everyone at the Push Partner POD has received their medications.



Security:

It is important to have security (whether you have security staff or an alarm or key card system) at your Push Partner site to ensure order and safety. This will also prevent the public from coming to your site. If your business has decided to be a public POD, security can help with crowd and damage control at your Push Partner POD.

Location and Layout:

This is the venue within your business site where staff and family members will come to receive their medications. This should be a relatively open space. Ideally this location will have specific in and out doors but modifications can be made to the Push Partner POD lay out to accommodate your venue.