OSWEGO COUNTY --
A national stockpile drill in Oswego County is helping the Health Department prepare for the worst, in a creative way.
The Health Department is using Girl Scout Cookies as a stand in for medical supplies to simulate the distribution of emergency medical supplies during critical health situations.
"To be able to receive them, inventory them, break them down and ship them out as fast as possible," said senior public health educator Diane Oldenburg.
Different types of cookies are being used as a stand in for vaccines, respirators, and antidotes. Staff from the Oswego County Health Department sorted through the Girl Scout Cookies, which will be sent out to individual troops as a way to quickly and accurately distribute supplies.
This is the first year the Girl Scouts have teamed up with the Health Department to do this. They are working with Girl Scout troops in Oswego and Mexico.
"It's an opportunity to see our plans come to light. They always sound good on paper but to drill it is a great opportunity and I think using the cookies keeps it light," said Oldenburg.
They say it's a win-win because it will help the health department test their readiness and saves a lot of work for Girl Scout volunteers.
"It's always fun because at the end you have to make sure you balance exactly so in the end we're trying to track down that one case, find out where it went," said Judi Knowlton from the NYPENN Pathways Girl Scout Council.
