By Kelley Weiss
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-576810.mp3
Kansas City, MO – Area health departments are gearing up to better equip the metropolitan area to respond to a medical emergency. KCUR's Kelley Weiss reports.
- - - - -
The ten Greater Kansas City health departments will now have public health response trailers on stand-by throughout the city to respond to a natural disaster, disease outbreak or bioterrorist attack.
Dr. Rex Archer, Kansas City Health Department director, says eight trailers will be strategically stationed to give out mass vaccinations and disease protection for first responders.
Rex Archer: "If you don't have these things deployed and spread around and if you have an earthquake and you lose your bridges than you can be cut off and then the north side has to handle something or the south side."
Almost a half million dollars in federal funding will pay for the trailers that, if deployed, will be equipped to treat 80,000 people per day.