Golden Valley Residents Part of "Operation Medicine Drop"

Some Golden Valley residents will be part of an event that will test how quickly medications can be distributed to the public in an emergency.

On May 6, postal carriers and uniformed Hennepin County Sheriff escorts will deliver empty pill bottles. This will give emergency crews a chance to see how effectively they can get medications to residential areas.

For example, if there were a bioterrorist attack using anthrax, it would be necessary to get people started on antibiotics within 48 hours. This emergency drill is designed to help the Minnesota Department of Health and other government agencies get the medications to those in need.

Operations Medicing Drop is part an overall emergency plan. This initiative is the first metro area in the country to recruit a full complement of postal volunteers for this program, and set up a fully developed postal delivery system, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

In a real emergency, most people would be instructed to get their medications at “medication centers” that would be set up throughout the state. Postal deliveries would be used to take some of the pressure off these centers, or be used in populated areas.

The medicine bottles will be delivered to approximately 37,000 mailing addresses in four Twin Cities ZIP codes:

• 55101 (St. Paul – Downtown)
• 55102 (St. Paul – West 7th/Fort Road)
• 55411 (Minneapolis – North Side)
• 55422 (Portions of Robbinsdale, Golden Valley and Crystal)

This is only a test. The bottle will be empty and an information sheet will explain the program. Residents can recycle the bottles.