May 22, 2002 — OEM and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), held the first-ever TriPOD (Trial Point of Dispensing) drill. TriPOD was designed to determine the feasibility of dispensing medication to a large section of the populace during a biological attack.

Hundreds of NYPD and FDNY cadets acted as "patients," while OEM, DOHMH personnel and volunteers from New York Cares manned "griage" (greeting and triage), triage, medical evaluation and dispensing areas. For purposes of this drill, TriPOD personnel anticipated treating over 1,000 victims every hour.

In the triage area, "patients" were greeted by volunteers and were then asked a list of questions to determine whether or not further treatment was required. The patient pool varied greatly, from a family of four unwilling to separate to single persons in the advanced stages of an illness, to extremely unruly couples. If the patients were determined to have been exposed to a biological agent, they would then be dispatched to the dispensing area.

Members of the media mass inside a pen set up outside the TriPOD area.
In the foreground are boxes of candy, which represented various types of medication.

Hundreds of representatives from varied governmental agencies, including the FBI, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), were invited to observe and learn from the proceedings.