According to PEMA Director Peter T. Gaynor, the purpose of the Medical Point of Dispensing (M-POD) exercise is to provide emergency response personnel from the City of Providence with the opportunity to test their ability to bring together resources, activate a POD location and distribute medications and vaccines to residents as quickly and effectively as possible. Local response agencies and volunteer organizations, integral to the preparation and execution of a POD, were involved in the planning of the exercise. During the exercise, they will have the opportunity to perform their roles as they would during an actual emergency.
The exercise is expected to involve 150+ participants from various state and local agencies. Funding for municipalities to develop and revise their Point of Distribution plans and conduct these exercises is provided by the RI Department of Health utilizing federal funding from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) program.
