Emergency Dispensing Site Management

Training Overview

An Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) is a place to go for medicine or medical supplies during an emergency. Cities and towns have emergency management plans that designate specific locations in certain communities for the purpose of dispensing medication or administering vaccines to the public during a public health emergency. These locations have been pre-screened and there are detailed written plans that explain how an EDS would operate. In Massachusetts, an emergency dispensing site is referred to as an EDS, but in many other states they are called Points of Dispensing (POD). Both terms refer to the same kind of dispensing locations.

Enroll To receive a certificate of completion. This requires registration to establish a learner profile and completion of pre- and post-tests
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What you’ll learn

After completing this training, you will be able to:

  • Define what an Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) is and the role of an EDS during public health emergencies
  • Summarize different staffing roles for an EDS
  • Explain how the Incident Command System (ICS) applies to an EDS
  • Describe the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS)
  • Identify common modes of dispensing that an EDS can use.

Subject Matter Experts


  • Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Disclaimer

This training was supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) with funds made available by the Cooperative Agreement Number TP921913, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.
This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP27877 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.”This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.