« Front Page More News »    Posted February 18, 2004 | 12:45 p.m. ET Delivering medicine USPS carriers could deliver medicine in the event of catastrophic incident Front row (left to right): DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, Postmaster General Jack Potter and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson sign the new agreement. Back row (left to right): NALC President William Young, NRLCA President Dale Holton and General John Gordon, Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor. Under a plan presently being developed, Postal Service letter carriers could be called upon to deliver antibiotics to residential addresses in the event of a catastrophic incident involving a biological agent for which antibiotic use is appropriate. Participation would be voluntary. The planning is the result of a memorandum of agreement among the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Postal Service. The Postal Service is working closely with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) on the issue. USPS was approached by the two agencies because of its extensive delivery reach and the trust Americans in every community have in their letter carriers. The delivery plan would supplement the public health system in the event of a catastrophic emergency. Procedures under consideration would add to — not replace — local plans. Individual local health agencies would dispense initial and follow-up supplies of antibiotics and relevant information in an affected area. Antibiotics for residential delivery would come from the Strategic National Stockpile. Further discussion of the plan with state and local officials will be required to determine the feasibility of incorporating Postal Service assistance in antibiotics delivery to residential addresses into emergency planning by local communities.	If you’re looking for USPS News Link, it’s available only on the Postal Service intranet at blue.usps.gov/news/link. Link is a publication for USPS employees. If you’re an employee and would like to subscribe to the e-mail version of Link, send an e-mail with your name and work location to uspslink@usps.gov.