Hawaii Consortium Awarded Major Grant for Pacific Emergency Preparedness

A consortium of universities and other organisations has been awarded a major grant for emergency preparedness training for the states of Hawaii and California as well as the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). The grant, approved for approximately US$ 4.14 million over three years, will foster the development of the Pacific Emergency Management, Preparedness and Response Information Network and Training Systems (Pacific EMPRINTS).
The Pacific EMPRINTS partnership will provide training for health professionals in Hawaii, California, and USAPI that includes face-to-face courses; remote learning networks; and multidisciplinary, live training scenarios. As part of the grant, ESRI (CA, USA) will provide software and training. In addition, ESRI staff will serve on the Pacific EMPRINTS advisory board and supply GIS expertise in program planning and delivery.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded the grant. The purpose of the grant is to fund the development of a health care workforce with knowledge, skills, abilities, and core competencies to recognize indications of terrorist attack; meet acute care needs of patients; participate in coordinated, multidisciplinary response to health events and to rapidly and effectively alert the public health system and local communities of such an event.

As part of Pacific EMPRINTS, GIS mapping and spatial analysis training will be provided to health professionals involved in management, preparedness, and response to terrorist events and other emergencies. GIS training will include the standardized use of GIS for data collection, management, and distribution in the field and in forward command centres.