Module 6: Preparedness Plan

An Anthrax Preparedness Plan for Your Apartment Complex

This topic is important to me because I live in a large apartment complex that has many people living within very close spaces. The building has shared circulation units, meaning that any biohazardous materials released in one unit can easily spread to another. I decided to focus on Anthrax in particular because it is the most likely to be used as a bioterrorism agent, according to the CDC.

How to Spot a Potential Outbreak

All residents should be aware of how to spot anthrax symptoms. They should be trained once a school year on how to spot an outbreak, and who to alert if they suspect an outbreak. According to the CDC, inhalation anthrax symptoms include fever and child, chest discomfort, shortness of break, confusion or dizziness, nausea or vomiting, sweats, body aches, headaches and extreme tiredness. Those who believe they have inhaled anthrax should contact their doctors immediately to confirm. After an outbreak is confirmed, they should report their case to the general managers.

Where to Report the Outbreak

All students should be given refrigerator magnets that contain all of the emergency information they could need in an outbreak, including a hotline number where they can report tips on crime, emergencies, and if they have been exposed to bioterrorism agents such as anthrax. If exposed, the students should know to contact this hotline number, which would notify the general manager in an emergency and enable him to act. This hotline should operate 24/7.

How to Contain the Threat

In order to contain the threat, the General Manager should immediately call the emergency response teams including the police, SWAT, and other officers. Residents should be immediately evacuated, and placed in a nearby hotel until the threat has disappeared, and the building is deemed safe. Residents should be evacuated as quickly and efficiently as possible, and signs should be posted to notify residents of the quickest way to escape the building.

Communication Plan and Public Announcements

To effectively communicate with the college aged residents, the management team should sent out alerts through email, texting, and social media communications, in order to make sure that residents have the greatest chance possible of seeing the warnings and communications. All communications should clearly be labeled to state the emergency, so that these notifications are not overlooked as many other notifications are.

Seeking Treatment

All residents should be made well aware of where they can go for Anthrax antibiotics before an outbreak ever occurs. These places are called Points of Dissemination. All apartment complexes should send out email, text, and social media notifications in order to allow their residents to know which POD is the closest to the apartment. It is also important for each student to know their medical history, so students should be advised to have a copy of their medical history that they can quickly access in a case of an anthrax attack.

2nd Ave Centers Preparedness Plan

I called a local apartment complex here in Gainesville in order to see what their preparedness plan was. According to the receptionist, all employees are trained on disease outbreaks, biohazardous contamination, and bioterrorism. As soon as an employee is made aware of a biosafety issue, they contact the general manager, who is then responsible for telling local authorities, including the police and the biohazard and SWAT team. Once the police are notified, they evacuate all residents, and they have an evacuation plan that helps to get residents out as quickly as possible.