Policies and Decisions Checklist
For Closed POD Partners
After learning about the Closed POD Program you now need to decide if this program is
right for your organization. Here is an extensive list of issues to consider as you start the
planning process. However some of these may not be applicable to your organization as
this is a comprehensive list for use my many kinds of organizations that wish to become
Closed POD Partners.
First Steps Towards Becoming a Closed POD Partner
□ Do you have support from your leadership (including headquarters) and legal
departments for the Closed POD Program? This is key in becoming a Closed Pod
Partner.
□ Are you registered as a Closed POD Partner?
□ You should first contact the Emergency Preparedness or Immunization section of
your local health department?
□ Does your organization have more than one location in other cities, counties or
states?
□ If Yes: Contact all of the health departments where you would like to be
dispensing medications to employees and/or family members and/or
clients.
Closed POD Partnership: Considerations and Requirements
□ Who will be your contact person within your organization? (This person will be
responsible for maintaining the Closed POD Partner program).
□ What is the size of your business?(Include employees and contractors if you want
to dispense to both)
□ Will you dispense to family members or clients in addition to employees?
□ If you are dispensing to family members will they come onsite or will
employees take medications home to them?
□ If you are dispensing to clients will they come to your site or are you
dispensing to clients out in the community (i.e. homebound, homeless, etc)
□ Do employees, family members and/or clients speak multiple languages?
Closed POD Partnership: Polices and Decisions
□ Taking medications
□ Will you make it mandatory for your employees or clients to receive
medications?
□ If Yes: how will you ensure compliance?
□ What are the ramifications of mandating that employees and
clients take the medication being dispensed?
□ What are your company labor policies regarding mandatory
actions?
NACCHO Closed POD Toolkit
Policies and Decisions Checklist
Policies and Decisions Checklist
For Closed POD Partners
□ Employee Tracking: Will you be tracking the numbers and types of medications
dispensed? If yes, consider:
□ Having a roster of all employees and possibly the number of people or
family members they are going to pick up for.
□ Determine if this roster will be filled in ahead of time or during the
event.
□ If you will require employees, family members and/or clients to sign any
paperwork verifying they received their medication.
□ If employees will need to show ID when they come through to get
antibiotics.
□ Privacy levels: Most public PODs will have relatively low levels of
confidentiality. Your organization will need to decide if you want to have HIGH
or LOW levels of confidentiality for employees, family members and/or clients.
□ If you choose to have a HIGH level of Confidentiality, here are some
questions to consider
□ How will you encourage staff to fill out a screening form or
screening survey ahead of time?
□ How will you securely maintain and store confidential information
from screening forms and who will have access to it?
□ Occupational Health: Some Local Health Departments may require that you
have occupational health on staff to become a Closed POD Partner
□ Do you have Occupational Health on staff?
□ If yes, will they assist with staff filling out the screening form
before the event?
□ Will they be required to sign a confidentiality form to be part of
the Closed POD Process?
□ Will they be responsible for the dispensing?
□ Human Resources: This staff can help you understand your organizational
policies and regulations that will apply to your Closed POD Partnership
□ Have you met with your Human Resources Department for:
□ Information about HIPAA, labor laws and company policies?
□ Identifying full-time, part time and contract staff that will be
covered as part of the Closed POD Program?
□ Liability
□ Have you checked with your Local Health Department regarding liability
protection for Closed POD partners and dispensing antibiotics on behalf of
the Local Health Department in a declared Public Health Emergency?
□ Have you met with your legal staff to discuss what your internal policies
will be regarding being a Closed POD partner?
NACCHO Closed POD Toolkit
Policies and Decisions Checklist
Policies and Decisions Checklist
For Closed POD Partners
Facility Considerations: For running a Closed POD at your site
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Do you have a secure location where the medication can arrive?
Where will medication be stored?
Where will staff, family members and/or clients park (if applicable)?
How will you implement traffic control (if applicable)?
Where will dispensing take place?
Organization specific policies for Businesses, Federal Agencies, Faith or
Community Based Organizations and High Education Institutions
□ Who in your organization is responsible for emergency preparedness planning?
□ This person should be in charge of Closed POD planning
□ Do you have a floor warden program or other program for emergency
preparedness?
□ If yes, then this is a good way to pre-identify staff to be part of your
Closed POD Plans
□ Do you share a building with other organizations? Is your building management
company aware that your organization is part of the Closed POD Program?
□ If yes, then it may be a good idea to talk to other businesses in your
building about the Closed POD Program and see how you can work
together.
□ For Building Managers, are all organizations in your building going to be part of
the Closed POD program? If not, what will the policy be for dispensing
antibiotics in your building in a public health emergency?
□ Do you have security policies/access (badging) to get into your facility?
□ Will you require badges/ID to gain access to your Closed POD?
□ Do you have offices/branches/plants in other cities/parishes/counties/states/
countries?
□ If yes, have you contacted the Local Health Department in that area to
determine if they support a Closed POD program?
□ What will be your policy for implementing the Closed POD program in all of
your branches?
□ For Faith Based Organizations: Will your Closed POD be serving just
parishioners or will it also be open to the community?
□ Do you have medical staff who would be willing to volunteer?
□ Would your organization be willing to dispense in the community to
vulnerable populations
NACCHO Closed POD Toolkit
Policies and Decisions Checklist
Policies and Decisions Checklist
For Closed POD Partners
Higher Education Institutions
Many College and Universities have their own fire, law, medical/occupational health
staff, leadership staff, etc that will need to be consulted for Closed POD Planning.
Sites that wish to open their Closed POD to serve the community beyond students and
staff will need to consider additional policies and decisions
□ Will your Closed POD facility be on or off campus?
□ If it will be off campus then you will need to coordinate with the local
jurisdiction (police, fire, etc)
□ Does your Closed POD facility have its own staff and staffing policies (i.e. events
staff or recreation hall staff, etc)?
□ If yes, you will need to determine if they will also staff your Closed POD
□ Will Closed POD staff be comprised of students and faculty or both?
□ Does your school have an on-campus student medical clinic?
□ If yes, what is the role they will be playing in antibiotic dispensing?
□ Will there be any prioritization of dispensing?
□ Will professors and other staff and/or faculty dispensing be separate from
students?
□ Higher Education Institutions will have to work within their
organizations (the Chancellor, the Regents, etc) to determine
dispensing prioritization, if they so choose.
□ Do you have on-campus housing?
□ If yes, will these students be a priority or at least target group for your
Closed POD plans?
□ Do you have an emergency communications plan for contacting
professors/faculty, non-teaching staff and students?
□ Is there emergency management on site? Police? Fire? Occupational Health?
□ Do you have multiple campuses?
□ Is your campus spread throughout a city or is it on one single site?
□ Do you plan to run a Closed POD in the summer months/winter vacation or only
when school is in session?
NACCHO Closed POD Toolkit
Policies and Decisions Checklist