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States counter biochemical threat – Invizeon (Missoula), AT&T join forces on health alert network (CHAIN) – Governors call for consistent approach to homeland security funding

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., read an Invizeon Corp. white paper describing its model for a Web-based program that would help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention share critical information with state and local health departments and private health care providers.

By WILLIAM WELSH Washington Technology

The company’s proposal went beyond the federal government’s initial vision of an alert system between CDC and state and local public health departments to include the medical community. Baucus forwarded the paper to the CDC in Atlanta, requesting that officials contact the Missoula, Mont.-based company to determine whether its concept would speed up the rollout of the network to state and local governments.

"We weren’t planning on getting a call back [from the CDC] for about two or three months, but we got one in two or three days," said David Todd, chief executive officer of Invizeon Corp.

Invizeon subsequently demonstrated its concept to CDC officials, first online and later in Atlanta, Todd said. Building on these briefings, Invizeon and AT&T Government Solutions Inc. of Vienna, Va., two months ago announced they will jointly market the Community Health Alert and Information Network, or CHAIN.

The network is intended to provide a way for the health care community to react swiftly and effectively to infectious diseases as well as chemical or biological attacks.

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, it became increasingly apparent to government and industry that it needs to have a network in place that could send and receive health alert information. Analysts and industry officials said the CDC’s concept for a one-way network capable of broadcasting alerts to state and local health departments wasn’t enough to protect the nation against a chemical, biological or radiological attacks.

CHAIN would enable health officials to track and respond to possible infectious disease outbreaks, as well as potential chemical, biological and radiological attacks. It also would address one of the key criticisms of the CDC’s health alert network concept, which left out emergency rooms and hospitals. These facilities must be included for an alert network to be effective, according to health care experts.

Several large states are investing substantial federal and state funds in health alert networks and electronic disease surveillance systems. For example, Texas has allocated $58 million for its statewide health alert network, while Pennsylvania has invested $12 million for its part of a national electronic disease surveillance system.

Congress has provided considerable funding to help state and local governments create the networks. Lawmakers approved about $900 million for emergency bioterrorism response in a fiscal 2002 supplemental funding bill to be provided to these governments through cooperative agreements made with the CDC. They also approved $240 million to support bioterrorism preparedness through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration.

The CDC and the health resources administration will distribute the same amount of funding to state and local government in fiscal 2003, John Loonsk, CDC’s associate director of informatics, told Washington Technology.

State and local officials will use the money to conduct needs assessments, build pharmaceutical stockpiles and improve information networks.

But results thus far have been mixed. Many state and local governments are working to develop solutions and bring in contractors to build health alert systems, but they want more help from the federal government in terms of funding and leadership, said Costis Toregas, president of Public Technologies Inc. of Washington, a nonprofit technology research and development organization.

"On the one hand, they are moving forward, but on the other hand, they are pushing to have the federal government assume that responsibility," he said.

For example, San Antonio and surrounding Bexar County in Texas have developed a comprehensive anti-terrorism plan. The cost to implement it is $66.2 million, of which $49 million would support disaster readiness for metro area hospitals, said Terry Brechtel, San Antonio’s city manager.

CHAIN is an outgrowth of Invizeon’s Physician Desktop product, a secure portal that medical professionals can customize to receive medical information. The network comprises a two-way communications and alert and reporting system that enables health officials and first responders to send and receive alerts and exchange information about health threats, including chemical, biological and radiological incidents.

So far, Invizeon has deployed the system in Missoula and is testing it in Portland, Ore., Todd said.

As part of the agreement, AT&T Government Solutions will provide systems integration, knowledge management, data mining services, application hosting, network distribution and system security for an integrated solution.

In addition, the AT&T Mobile Network would enable local health professionals and first responders to communicate via an integrated and interoperable network using various devices, including cell phones, pagers, faxes, e-mails and personal digital assistants, said Alfred Gollwitzer, AT&T Government Solutions’ division general manager.

The two companies hope to leverage the relationships that Invizeon has with medical societies and public health departments around the nation into contracts in the second quarter, Gollwitzer said.

"We are well-positioned for the opportunity, because we are bringing a solution to market that is a managed service," he said. "To participate, entities don’t have to buy a large technology infrastructure." *

Staff Writer William Welsh can be reached at wwelsh@postnewsweektechcom.

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/17_25/state/20450-1.html

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Governors call for consistent approach to homeland security funding

By William Welsh
Staff Writer

In response to criticism from some members of Congress that states aren’t spending first-responder funds in a timely fashion, the nation’s governors are calling for several key reforms to the funding process.

The governors want consistent federal planning guidance, streamlined processing for federal reimbursement requests and a multiyear funding stream to support local community efforts that are consistent with statewide strategies, said Ray Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association of Washington in an April 2 letter to Congress.

“These are the key building blocks for establishing the strongest possible hometown security structure supporting the National Homeland Security Strategy,” wrote Scheppach.

Still, states are managing to spend the majority of funds they have received for homeland security despite conflicts between having thorough procurement practices and the desire for urgent delivery of equipment and training for first responders, according to NGA.

To support its position, the association cited a survey by the National Emergency Management Association, which shows that most states are obligating or spending more than three-quarters of all funds appropriated before fiscal 2002. To date, 81 percent of all funds have been passed through to local governments, according to the survey.

Because the fiscal 2002 money was only received in late September and October, it is only now being obligated, NGA said.

Congress appropriated $3.4 billion for the Department of Justice and $7.3 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for homeland security funding in fiscal 2002, according to NGA.

The uproar began when members of the Senate Appropriations Committee raised the issue in a hearing last month and asked Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to look into the matter, a source close to the matter said.

As director of the Department of Homeland Security, Ridge oversees the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Office of Domestic Preparedness and other agencies. The Office of Domestic Preparedness was formerly part of the Department of Justice.

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/20469-1.html

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Security Funding Formula Under Attack

When New York Gov. George Pataki questioned the fairness of the federal government’s distribution of homeland security funds last week, he broke the seal of silence on what might be called the "Minnetonka problem."

Jason White – Stateline.org

Put as a question: Does Minnetonka, Minn., population 51,301, along with other small communities and states, actually need funding for homeland security?

Perhaps. But Pataki thinks they may not need as much as they currently get.

"The latest distribution … does not take into consideration threat levels associated with certain targets," Pataki wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

According to Pataki, New York’s high-profile targets include the most expansive mass transit system in the nation, important symbols of American freedom such as the Statue of Liberty and cornerstones of the nation’s economy on Wall Street. He said these targets entitle New York to a greater share of federal security funds than the state currently receives.

So far this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released $566 million to state and local governments for the purchase of equipment for first responders — such as police, fire and health personnel — and training programs.

Under the current funding formula, a significant percentage of these funds flowed to the most populous states, like California, which received $45 million, and New York, which received $26.5 million. Less populous states received far less: Wyoming got $4.8 million and Vermont received just under $5 million.

But when measured on a per capita basis, Wyoming’s take dwarfs California’s. Each resident of Wyoming receives 7.5 times more security dollars than each resident of California. They receive 7 times more than each resident of New York.

With conferees from the U.S. House and Senate currently hashing out differences on a budget bill that includes President Bush’s request for additional $2 billion for security for state and local governments, questions over how these funds will be distributed loom large.

Last Thursday, the House and the Senate upped Bush’s funding request to $2.2 billion. The upper and lower chambers differ in how they want this money spent. The Senate approved $1.3 billion for security grants to states. It also approved $300 million to cover vulnerable ports, airports and power plants, and another $600 million for densely populated areas. The House included $1.5 billion for security grants to states, and another $700 million for high-risk areas.

Much of this money will be subject to the same funding formula Pataki criticized, unless Congress acts to change it.

Columnist Anne Applebaum, writing in the Washington Post, said the formula makes little sense.

" … We will, at some point, have to admit out loud that the probabilities of [a dirty bomb exploding] in any given small city is very low; that funding is very limited; and that if we are to provide every fire department in the country with expensive new tools and training, then ‘homeland security’ will quickly turn into a synonym for ‘waste of taxpayers’ money,’" she wrote.

Applebaum would prefer that federal money be given to New York, Washington, Los Angeles and a few dozen other high-risk cities and not Minnetonka.

The reason New Yorkers receive so much less federal security money than Wyoming residents on a per capita basis is due to a funding formula that guarantees each state at least .75 percent of funds available. This adds up to 40 percent of the total — when the terrorities are included — and the remaining 60 percent is distributed based on population. This distribution formula finds its roots in the Patriot Act.

This arrangement is rubbing New York officials the wrong way as they watch their security costs spike due to the Orange alert, a heightened state of security declared by Ridge because of the war with Iraq.

New York estimates it is spending $7.5 million per week above and beyond normal security expenditures, with much of the money going to the New York National Guard and overtime for State Police personnel.

In Wyoming, the additional costs of the Orange alert are so small they are difficult to measure.

"I’m sure in a lot of the high population states or in the border states that [increased cost] is measurable, but here is it not," said Kelly Ruiz, spokeswoman for Wyoming’s Department of Homeland Security.

Nonetheless, Wyoming officials say the state deserves its $4 million plus in federal security funds. The state would get millions more if Congress approves Bush’s funding request.

"The threat is real here," said Lara Azar, spokesperson for Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Azar said Wyoming needs the same equipment that New York does, only on a smaller scale, but that the small scale does not always mean smaller costs.

"If Wyoming needs a radio system to connect first responders, the basic components of the system are going to the same here as they are in New York, except in New York the system is going to have be a little bigger," she said.

Nonetheless, Ridge appears to side with Pataki.

In a March 27 appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Ridge said the current formula should be discarded.

"I would like to engage both chambers … to see whether or not I can convince you, as I’ve concluded, that that formula we’ve used in the past shouldn’t be the formula we use in the future, because it doesn’t take into consideration some of the special needs that certain communities have and certain states have that are substantially greater than others," Ridge said.

http://www.govtech.net/news/news.phtml?docid=2003.04.07-46081

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