Neither bioterror, nor sleet...

City, Postal Service tested in emergency preparedness drill

BOSTON. Sunday is normally a day off for postal carriers. But, yesterday, roughly 23,000 homes in the South End and West Roxbury were unexpectedly greeted with packages, as part of an emergency preparedness drill run by the city’s health department.

Throughout the morning, 32 teams of carriers, accompanied by Boston Police officers,  delivered empty cardboard boxes the size and dimensions of pill bottles residents would receive during a real public health emergency. The deliveries also included a flyer telling residents the packages were only part of a drill.

“This is a great way to establish a dialogue with the residents, or continue a dialogue with residents,” said John Jacob, the acting director of the Boston Public Health Commission’s public health preparedness office.

Since 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided funding to 21 cities nationwide to develop plans for emergency preparedness scenarios. But Boston is only the third city, following Seattle and Philadelphia, to run a drill in which the post office practices delivering life-saving medication in the event of a bioterror attack, Jacob said.

In the past, the city has also tested setting up health clinics where residents could get antibiotics in the event of an emergency. The drills are meant to prepare cities to provide residents with the necessary medication within 48 hours of an emergency.