HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $26.6 million in new grants to strengthen bioterrorism training and education for the nation's health professions workforce. The grants are the first in HHS' Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program. Today's grantees are in 23 states.
"Our health care professionals need to be prepared for the special demands that a bioterrorism attack could make on them and on our health care system," Secretary Thompson said. "This new program is an important part of our broader efforts to prepare our public health system, develop effective medical countermeasures and stand ready to respond if bioterrorism should strike."
The program includes two components: continuing education for health professionals, funded at $22,344,500, and curriculum development in health professions schools, funded at $4,221,541. It is designed to provide bioterrorism-related continuing education and training opportunities for practicing health care providers and support new emergency preparedness curricula in health professions schools. The program will provide for training of at least 38,000 health professionals to better respond to an emergency.
The new program is part of a total federal investment of $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2003 for bioterrorism preparedness. It is administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which also funds other health professions programs.
"We view these grants as a vital extension of our mission to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality health care," said Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D., HRSA administrator. "In the case of bioterrorism, it is even more urgent that our health professions workforce be prepared to treat all of our citizens, wherever they reside."
The Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program was created with the passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
More information is available at http://www.hrsa.gov/bioterrorism.htm.
Lists of grant recipients follows:
Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program FY 2003 Continuing Education Grants
Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, Ark. $1,494,401
University of California San Francisco, Calif. $1,496,794
Denver Health & Hospital Authority Denver, Colo. $987,323
Yale New Haven Health System Bridgeport, Conn. $1,282,801
MCHC - Chicago Hospital Council Chicago, Ill. $1,046,160 University of Kansas Medical Center Kansas City, Kan. $1,218,549
Univ. of Louisville Research Foundation Louisville, Ky. $1,363,969
Saint Vincent Foundation Billings, Mont. $917,596
University of Medicine and Dentistry of N.J. - NJMS Newark, N.J. $1,570,090
University of New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. $1,140,565
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, N.Y. $399,597
University of North Dakota Grand Forks, N.D. $820,761
Oklahoma Area Health Education Center Tulsa, Okla. $785,733
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, Pa. $968,102
Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, S.C. $1,235,721
U. of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Memphis, Tenn. $1,363,747
Univ. of Texas Health Sciences Center Houston, Texas $1,838,693
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Va. $1,535,597
West Virginia University Morgantown, W.Va. $878,301
TOTAL: $22,344,500
Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program FY 2003 Curriculum Development Grants
Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, Ark. $216,375
University of California Los Angeles, Calif. $313,430
University of Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii $377,125
University of Illinois Chicago, Ill. $392,027
University of Montana Missoula, Mont. $201,454
Univ. of Nebraska Med. Ctr. Omaha, Neb. $363,777
Columbia University New York, N.Y. $348,360
Ohio State University Research Fdn. Columbus, Ohio $429,474
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, Tenn. $384,866
Univ. of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio, Texas $459,222
Shenandoah University Winchester, Va. $309,579
University of Washington Seattle, Wash. $425,853
TOTAL: $4,221,541 GRAND TOTAL: $26,566,041
