By DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD, Ill. -- Pike County Health Department administrator Anita Andress spent time finding her desk on Monday, her first day back in the office as the flooding threat began to recede.

Andress represented her department in incident command, which oversaw the county's flood-fighting effort along the Mississippi River.

"We've learned that all of our training and drills and that type of thing we've been having over the past several years do pay off," Andress said. "Although it was a unfortunate experience, it was a huge learning experience for myself and my staff. It validated how important relationships are with our partners."

Among the partners were county, state and federal agencies with health-related support provided by the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team and Illinois Nurse Volunteer Emergency Needs Team.

IMERT and INVENT rotated 53 team members through the county over 13 days to back up sandbagging efforts by civilian volunteers and the military.

Team members set up three aid stations along the Sny levee and a base of operations at Western Junior High School in Kinderhook to treat injuries related to the work effort -- sprains, strains, blisters, tick bites, heat injuries -- and provide twice-daily wellness checks of levee workers.

IMERT director of operations Mary Connelly said the team, called into service by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, brings together volunteer healthcare professionals with emergency/critical care background to assist with triage and stabilization in potential mass casualty incidents.

"After a few days, we realized our role was more nurse-focused than triage-focused because of the health issues. So much of it was patient education and giving shots as opposed to, thank God, no mass casualties that required rapid triage and transport," Connelly said. "We brought nurses in who specialize more in community healthcare. It really was a community, albeit an instantaneous community."

Conditions demanded education on tick removal and Lyme Disease, tetanus shots and, as the mosquito population swelled, West Nile Virus -- lessons that will serve the community in the future.

To continue the education process, the health department plans to offer clinics in August promoting tetanus vaccinations.

"The recommendations during the flood are the same as those that apply at any other time," Andress said.

"If you get a severe wound, first and foremost seek medical evaluation. Persons with puncture wounds or wounds contaminated with soil or fecal matter should get a tetanus vaccination if it's over five years since their last booster. If it's a clean wound, (get a vaccination) if it's over 10 years since the last booster. We want everyone to be current on tetanus."

Connelly said community support was key to IMERT's work in the field.

"They had firsthand knowledge of 1993. They also could tell us where all their resources were," she said. "The local people, whether they had an official role or just had information to bring, really made a big difference in our understanding of the big picture. We lacked for nothing. Every problem was solved."

Andress said IMERT's presence was reassuring to county emergency providers and her department, where up to half of the 32 employees worked on the flood effort any given day in a wide variety of roles.

"When you're a small county, you have to know you have to do what you have to do to make things happen," she said.

Andress and several staff members were on the job during the 1993 flood but with different responsibilities. Then a staff nurse, "all I did was give tetanus shots," Andress said.

"Knowing how to work with partners in the incident command process is crucial because doing it right minimizes the miscommunication. Communication is one of the biggest issues, making sure the right person gets the right message at the right time. That's difficult every day, and when a crisis is going on, that only adds to it," Andress said. "What I found very valuable was the technology. I was able to get e-mail messages via Blackberry, I had a cell phone. You think back to '93 and how much harder it was to communicate."

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379