A line of cars waits in queue in the Lehman High parking lot as a Hays County Health Department volunteer hands out a pack of Skittles to a first responder.
Today, the bag of candy represents Amoxicillin or another antibiotic. Tomorrow, it could be the real thing.
Such was the drill performed Nov. 2 by Hays County Emergency Management during a point of distribution exercise at Lehman High in Kyle.
“Our primary goal is to ensure we can give either the medication or supplies in the quickest amount of time to the citizens of the county (during an emergency),” Mike Jones, Hays County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, said.
Jones said similar drills performed by the county provide vital practice for volunteers and responders in event of an emergency. Those drills extend to water and medicine distribution, to handing out blankets or food to disaster victims.
Facilitating a process that keeps people moving forward during an emergency is the focus.
“If we practice this and refine our skills and abilities and get our volunteers involved, if something happens, it’s not something new,” Jones said. “We’re doing something every year to facilitate taking care of citizens.
The drill also allows volunteers to experience every conceivable variable that could arise during an emergency event. During the Kyle drill, volunteers dealt with the potential of a language barrier.
One official said the county throws different angles at volunteers to ensure if a situation does happen, they would be prepared and not have to think of what to do “on the fly.”
Jones said the county recently enacted many of its emergency response procedures following the May 2015 flood event. That included managing resources after the influx of volunteers who arrived in Wimberley to help with cleanup.
“The process works no matter the emergency event,” Jones said.
Ensuring order is kept is paramount for all volunteers, Jones said.
“It settles anxiety. If people see us organized and volunteers with a smile, versus a grim look, the anxiety goes down,” Jones said. “We want them to think it’s another day in Hays County.”
