The Number 1 EMS Region in Georgia 

November 2003

More Terrorism Preparedness Grants Available

Georgia has received $17.1 million dollars in federal grants to improve the level of bioterrorism and general disaster preparedness within hospital community organizations (HCOs), Licensed EMS Services, Acute Care Hospitals and Community Health Centers.
Six million dollars have been allocated for operational expenses and projects including chemical antidote caches for EMS providers and hospitals, satellite dishes, communications systems etc.

The remaining $11.1 million dollars will be distributed in three phases (Phase 1-3).
Phase 1 (approximately $4.1 million dollars) will be available for all HCOs who have completed the Terrorism Preparedness Survey distributed earlier this year (Providers can still turn these in). Phase 1 grant money will be in the form of vouchers. EMS Services will be given vouchers in the amount of $400 per each licensed vehicle primarily for personal protective equipment. The EMS Services should receive the vouchers and an approved vendor price list (please keep this confidential) through the mail by November 15, 2003. Two meetings will be held at Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia on December 3 and 4, 2003. The December 3 meeting is primarily for hospitals but EMS Services may attend if there is a conflict with the December 4 date. The December 4 meeting is structured for EMS and Community Health Centers. The meeting will be from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and reimbursement will be available for 1 night at a local hotel (max. $75) as well as mileage (state rate $.28 per mile) for one person per provider (Those providers within 50 miles of the training center are not eligible for hotel reimbursement). The approved vendors will be demonstrating their equipment and several educational programs will be presented (approved for recert credit). EMS Services will notify me by January 15, 2004 as to how they wish to spend their voucher money. The District Health Officer and myself will approve the purchases and forward them to the Office of EMS. The equipment will be shipped directly to you and you should forward the packing slips to me to confirm complete delivery. The vendors will be responsible for any on-site training necessary. All money not spent in Phase 1 will be rolled into Phase 2.

Phase 2 (6.0 million dollars) will be focused on the Health District level and will be distributed, for planning purposes, to the health districts in the amount equal to $150,000 / district plus $0.40 per person according to the 2000 census in the form of grant-in-aid. The allocation of these Phase 2 resources will be defined through a collaborative planning process including public health and the local HCOs. The resources will be used to improve community preparedness which may include increasing surge capacity. This grant should be available after January 1, 2004 and will be approved by the District Health Director. This grant will have phase 2a and 2b.

Phase 3 (1 million dollars) will be held to address state-wide issues and identified local needs.  All three phases must be spent by June 30, 2004.

Jim Cutcher, Region 1 EMS Training Coordinator, has experienced the sadness of losing his home to fire. The fire occurred during Thursday night when no one was home. Jim was at the EMS instructor course in Clarksville when the fire occurred. The house was a total loss and Region 1 is receiving contributions to assist Jim and his family. Contact David Loftin for more information at cdloftin@gdph.state.ga.us.

The first of two EMS Instructor courses has been completed and all but one of the attendees completed the program. The next EMS Instructor course will be held in Clarksville on November 9-14, 2003. The process begins again next year in March with the instructor candidate screening. If you are interested in becoming an instructor, begin preparing now.

The American Heart Association will sponsor five Paramedics from Region 1 to a Stroke Train-The-Trainer course in Miami, Florida in November. Attending will be Larry Vandegriff, Tim King,  Glenn King, Dave Kleiman and David Loftin. The Stroke Instructor courses will begin in the region in January in Dallas, Georgia.

A state-wide tabletop exercise will be held for District 1.1 (Rome) to include Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, Gordon, Floyd, Bartow, Polk, Haralson and Paulding counties at the Lakeview Center at Floyd College on November 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. All key public safety officials are invited. For more information contact Joe Adams at wjadams@gdph.state.ga.us

The supply of Georgia Patient Care Reports (PCRs) for January - June, 2004 have been ordered from Scantron. The delivery is expected for early December, 2003. Please contact David Loftin if your supply runs low before delivery of the new supply.

The EMS section of the Georgia Public Health Association has approved the merger with the Terrorism Preparedness personnel to form a larger section. The section invites EMS personnel to join the section and attend the annual GPHA conference. Possible topics for the section at the 2004 conference are

A Secondary Triage, Treatment, Telecommunications, and Assessment Center (ST3AC) Plan – Charles Reneau
Empowering Our Children: Preparing Them for Disasters – Kelly Buddenhagen, EMT-P
Rural Health – Access to Emergency Services – Ej Dailey, EMT-P
Strategic National Stockpile Planning – Calita Richards, Pharm.D.
The Role of Surveillance in EMS and Emergency Preparedness – Eileen Usman, RN, MSN
Emergency Preparedness: A Primer for Public Health Employees – Pam Blackwell, RN
EMS: A Primer for Public Health Employees – Sam R. Cunningham, EMT-P

Contact Sam Cunningham for more information at srcunningham@gdph.state.ga.us