KDA staff host Personal Protective Equipment Training

The Office of State Veterinarian's Divisions of Animal Health and Producer Services participated in an Agriculture Preparedness Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) training.  Most recently, the groups assembled in Bowling Green, KY in July 2008. 

Previously, the OSV divisions along with private veterinarians, public health officials, federal veterinary medical officers, commercial poultry producers and U of K extension staff participated in PPE training.  The training was sanctioned by the US Department of Homeland Security to increase awareness and safety precautions necessary for a foreign animal zoonotic disease response.The class was conducted by personnel from Kirkwood University in Iowa as part of their Homeland Security program.  Ag disasters can happen anytime and anywhere.

Training and preparing protects the public and responders from economic and agricultural destruction.  It is vital to collaborate state, federal and local governments along with public and private businesses in order to make an effective response.

This training offered an in depth hands-on instruction paired with an avian influenza scenario-based event.  In preparing for the potential outbreak, focus was concentrated on prevention, containment, euthanasia, disposal and recovery.  Everyone present was given a supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate for the scenario being presented.  Once a formal demonstration was done; the attendees practiced proper donning and doffing of the PPE.  This type of hands-on activities creates a more meaningful learning environment for all involved.

KDA staff complete Incident Command System 420 Training

KDA staff traveled to Oklahoma to train in Incident

Command System (ICS) 420 Training which is comprised of Command and General Staff principles for a response to an incident.

Kentucky had three positions on an eight person Incident Management Team, those being Shannon Sparks as Safety Officer, Chris Ragan as Operations Sector Chief and Dr. Ed Hall as Planning Sector Chief.

The training included three USDA teams and the assembled team from the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture.

This training was quite intense and the grade was a pass/fail. The Partnership team had members who had never met, or responded, but had the basic training in ICS. The final test was a 6 1/2 hour exercise in which the team had to arrive in a state and assume command of the response to a Foreign Animal Disease.

This exercise was quite realistic and the results of our team effort, was that the team and all individuals passed. The evaluators gave the team a score of 80 and was very complimentary of our performance. This was the first time an assembled team had been trained and we were somewhat closely scrutinized.

The Forestry Service is the agency which developed and implements the ICS that is used in large responses.  It is the intention of the Kentucky personnel to seek deployment to an incident as a trainee or shadower to gain the experience in working in a large incident.

KDA Mobile Operations Center

KDA is prepared to respond quickly to any homeland security emergency relating to agriculture, thanks to a new Mobile Operations Center.    The center is a 44-foot trailer outfitted with radios and other equipment linking with other local, state, and federal authorities.

The mobile operations center was purchased with grants from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security for the communications equipment and a grant from the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management for the trailer.

Since 9/11, KDA has worked hard to upgrade its capabilities to respond to any type of agricultural emergency.

KDA Exercises AI Emergency Response Plan ther movements.

The KDA participated in a Disease Emergency Exercise on March 5, 2007 with twelve other states.  The event was intended to exercise the Avian Influenza (AI) Emergency Response Plan.  Kentucky’s role was a support state.  This was the second event Kentucky has participated in to exercise the AI plan.  During the first exercise held on February 5, 2007 Kentucky was one of the impacted states. 

KDA is a member state of the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture (MSPSA) and the Southern Agriculture and Animal Disaster Response Alliance (SAADRA).  These multi-agency organizations are essential to enhance and compliment state and regional agriculture and animal emergency management systems.

KDA’s State Agriculture Response Team

Program Model in Development

The KDA, Office of State Veterinarian has contracted with Tetra Tech to develop a Kentucky State Agriculture Response Team Program Model, based on the relevant best practices and methodologies of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture.

There has already been one state agency stakeholder meeting, a Summit of the stakeholders held April 2007 at the Kentucky History Center, Frankfort, KY 40601 and follow-up training sessions held in June 2007 at Elizabethtown and Frankfort, KY. 

The stakeholders are comprised of state agriculture agencies, commodity and volunteer organizations, and other agriculture entities who will leverage the manpower demands of a large scale event.