By Alexis Tarrazi / Senior Reporter

(Dec. 10, 2009) — As locals gear up this winter for the difficulty of dealing with the seasonal flu and H1N1 viruses, officials with Bergen County are gearing up to deal with something larger, something more ominous.

Though many residents may not realize, the Bergen County Office of Emergency Management houses stockpiles of drugs and medications in the event of a crisis. But in order to efficiently and expeditiously disburse this medication to residents, the county needs local municipalities to help with what could be a chaotic process.

So far, only the boroughs of Carlstadt and North Arlington have heeded the call in southern Bergen County. Both boroughs are well versed, equipped and staffed with volunteers to set up a Point of Distribution location, also known as a POD, in the event of an emergency.

“We got involved with POD because, God forbid something were to happen, we are ready,” said Hernan Lopez, Carlstadt’s OEM coordinator. “Carlstadt residents will have the luxury to stay in their hometown in case of an emergency versus traveling to a county POD site, where they would have to wait amongst other community members.”

Lopez has dubbed his POD program, “Carlstadt Ready.”

If a local OEM does not have a POD location in the municipality, residents will have to check with the county to find the nearest one.

Thom Ammirato, speaking on behalf of North Arlington Police Chief Louis Ghione, said that communities should take PODs seriously and become involved.

“People would come to those points and be evaluated to determine what type of medicine should be issued,” Ammirato said. “The State Police would send the medicine to the POD locations.”

North Arlington Councilman Richard Hughes, who serves as the liaison to the local board of health, showed confidence in the borough’s POD program.

“If there ever were any kind of major outbreak, such as a more serious disease, we could respond relatively quickly,” Hughes said. “A POD has to be able to handle 10,000 people in 24 hours.”

In the event of an emergency, these locations will serve as distribution sites for community members only.

Carlstadt has two locations — Sun Chemical on Central Avenue and the Carlstadt Public School — to handle the 6,000 residents in the borough. North Arlington has three locations — North Arlington High School, Queen of Peace High School and Queen of Peace Church — to handle 15,000 residents.

There is a cost to stock supplies, such as clipboards, masks, gloves, walkie-talkies and hand sanitizers. Lopez noted that he believes many communities are not getting involved due to this cost. Carlstadt did not have to pay for its supplies because of Lopez’s active support in the county OEM.

Along with the cost, manning the station is another task that relies solely on the community. To avoid a situation like Hurricane Katrina, where many volunteers fled the Gulf Coast area, both boroughs have started to recruit locals from the woman’s, veterans and senior clubs, and schools.

North Arlington has also conducted a mock disaster drill to prepare itself for an emergency.

Hughes said the health department took on a smaller scale drill Saturday, Dec. 5 when a H1N1 clinic was held to accommodate 400 locals.

“The health department has done a phenomenal job getting North Arlington ready,” Hughes said. “Under emergency management, the POD can be morphed or adapted to handle a much larger incident. It’s not just to give out flu shots, if there is a flu outbreak. But it is multifaceted in that regard. We can build around any scenario.”

Ammirato said North Arlington has 177 volunteers available, not including support from the police, fire and EMS departments. Carlstadt has a large number of volunteers who are pulled from the Community Emergency Response Team program and local physicians.

“I am confident we have enough people that will take up the call to care for Carlstadt residents,” Lopez said.

For more information on PODs, visit the county’s OEM Web site at www.state.nj.us/njoem.