Danville Walgreen's tests drug distribution in a crisis

DANVILLE – Karen McKown doesn't like to think about an anthrax scare happening in her community.

"But I think it's something we have to think about in this day and age," said McKown, a Danville resident and Walgreen's employee.

Local emergency response officials do think about public emergencies, and on Wednesday, put into practice at Walgreen's Accounting Center, 1901 E. Voorhees St., a plan for distributing antibiotics to hundreds of people at risk of a hypothetical anthrax exposure.

The Vermilion County Health Department conducted the exercise for several hours Wednesday with the cooperation of Walgreen's officials, who allowed hundreds of their 900 employees to leave their desks and run through a medication disbursement site.

The goal was to distribute to 750 employees, but Thomas Hanrahan, director of vendor accounting at the center, said probably half would get through the process.

Hanrahan said cooperating with health officials on this event is important, because of the company's concern for employees, their families and the community.

"It's something we should be doing," he said.

The exercise assumed that Decatur experienced an Anthrax exposure a few days earlier and that a group took credit for the act and claimed exposure in other counties, including Vermilion. The health department learns that exposure may have occurred at the David S. Palmer Arena, where Walgreen's had an event with employees.

Stephen Laker, administrator of the Vermilion County Health Department, said coordinating with workplaces to get medication to people would probably be one of the easiest methods logistically.

Walgreen's employees filed into the disbursement room in groups by department, walked up to a long line of health officials seated at tables, checked in and then were given a bag of "antibiotics," actually empty medicine bottles. Those with possible complications, such as other medications, were directed to a specific area.

From her perspective as an employee, McKown said the exercise went very smoothly and seemed very well-organized.

Co-worker Luke Ballengee of Rossville agreed. Foot traffic flowed well, and people got through the process quickly, he said.

"If someone weren't thinking about these things, if it really happened, it would just be complete chaos," he said. "It's been a good learning experience."

McKown said she learned that antibiotics can be used to treat anthrax. After the anthrax incidents in 2001, when 11 people in the United States were exposed and five died, McKown believed there was no treatment.

Wednesday's event at Walgreen's was one of many parallel emergency response exercises taking place this week across East Central Illinois. The exercises stem from regional planning that's been ongoing in an effort to improve public health and emergency officials' ability to respond to emergencies.

Laker said those involved in the Walgreen's exercise will meet later to discuss what could be done better.

If the exercise is considered a success, the health department likely will contact other large employers about being distribution sites in the event of an emergency.

"We are charged with distributing medications to the entire Vermilion County population in an emergency, and work sites may be the only way we can get the job done quickly," said Darci Newton, public health emergency planning and response coordinator.

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