Recently in Emergency Services Category

Source: Jeffrey Levi, Laura M. Segal, Dara Alpert Lieberman, Rebecca St. Laurent, Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, December 2011

From the summary:
Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism finds key programs that detect and respond to bioterrorism, new disease outbreaks and natural or accidental disasters are at risk due to federal and state budget cuts.

The report, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), identifies some key programs at risk due to continued cuts to federal public health emergency preparedness funds include:
- 51 of the 72 cities in the Cities Readiness Initiative are at risk for elimination; the Initiative supports the ability to rapidly distribute and administer vaccines and medications during emergencies;
- All 10 state labs with "Level 1" chemical testing status are at risk for losing top level capabilities, which could leave the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the only public health lab in the country with full ability to test for chemical terrorism and accidents;
- 24 states are at risk for losing the support of Career Epidemiology Field Officers - CDC experts who supplement state and local gaps to rapidly prevent and respond to outbreaks and disasters, such as during the H1N1 flu pandemic and responding to the health impact of the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010; and
- The ability for CDC to mount a comprehensive response to nuclear, radiologic and chemical threats as well as natural disasters is at risk due to potential cuts to the National Center for Environmental Health. All 50 states and Washington, D.C. would lose the support CDC provides during these emergencies.

...Combined federal, state and local budget cuts mean public health departments can no longer sustain a number of basic elements of preparedness. In the past year, 40 states and Washington, D.C. cut state public health funds - with 29 of those states and D.C. cutting their budgets for a second year in a row and 15 states for three years in a row. Federal funds for state and local preparedness declined by 38 percent from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to 2012 (adjusted for inflation) - and additional cuts are expected under budget sequestration....
See also:
- Recording of the News Conference Call
- Trust for America's Health Release
- Remembering 9/11 and Anthrax: Public Health's Vital Role in National Defense
- Ready or Not 2010
- Ten Top Priorities for Prevention
- Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness initiative page

Source: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Press Release, September 8, 2011

Washington, DC -- On September 11, 2001, "First Responders" to the World Trade Center conflagration and nearby residents waded into dust so corrosive that it resulted in chemical burns to their respiratory system. These New York City police and firefighters were needlessly sacrificed due to woefully lax U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards which remain in effect but need correction, according to a rulemaking petition filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). ...WTC First Responders were subjected to dust so caustic as to cause respiratory disabilities and deaths. Yet, if a similar scenario occurred today, the same results would recur. That is because EPA misapplied the international corrosivity standard and then systematically failed to test and communicate the caustic properties of WTC dust. As a result, the EPA standard is ten times more lax than the presumed safe levels for alkaline corrosives set by the United Nations (UN).

Source: Barry Furey, American City and County, August 10, 2011

Emergency networks need significant development.

More than 240 million 911 calls are made each year in the United States, and a majority of them come from wireless digital devices, according to the Alexandria, Va.-based National Emergency Number Association (NENA). However, while the number of emergency calls has increased over the last four decades, the 911 network -- the piece that connects the caller with emergency assistance -- has not changed to meet the demands. In many cases, 911 networks cannot fully use the features of modern telephone devices, such as the ability to send text messages and photos.

Source: Robert E. Lee, Joseph Vonasek, Compensation & Benefits Review, Vol. 43 no. 3, May/June 2011
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Supplementary contributions to pension plans are predicted to increase for some Florida municipal governments because of the funding source used for police and fire plans. This article examines the history of local government pensions and focuses on Chapter 175 and 185 Pension Plans, which access funding through a tax on property insurance premiums. The notable legislative changes, Attorney General Opinions and court cases are also briefly assessed. This study research examines a sample of 32 pension funds in 20 Florida cities and indicates that the cost of providing these pensions is increasing because of legislative mandates for use of these revenues. This is evidenced by a historical decrease in the funding ratios of the funds of the cities sampled.

Source: Paul A. Welcher, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 15, 2011

This article is the first of three articles, the purpose of which is to highlight the findings of the formal report. The 12 health benefits data are presented in three basic groups. This article presents health benefits related to emergencies. The formal report included two benefits of this nature: emergency room visits and ambulance services. The second article will present data on reproductive health benefits: maternity care, infertility treatment, sterilization, and gynecological exams and services. The third article will present data on health benefits involving chronic illness and maintenance care: diabetes care management, kidney dialysis, physical therapy, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, and organ and tissue transplantation.

Source: Peter S. Fisner, IFP Policy Brief, March 30, 2011

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett has come calling at the State Capitol seeking support for a plan to help his city recover from the devastating floods of 2008. He arrived with a plan that lawmakers have seen before from others -- and approved with the promise that it was a one-time arrangement.

The proposal: a tax-increment financing plan using sales-tax revenues, known as a sales-tax TIF. (The city calls it a "Growth Reinvestment Initiative" or GRI.) This would permit diversion of sales-tax revenue from the state general fund to local projects, much as lawmakers permitted in 2005 for the Iowa Speedway project in Newton, but on a much larger scale. That arrangement was for a maximum of $12.5 million; the Cedar Rapids proposal would cost $200 million to $214 million over 20 years.

Simply put, the rest of Iowa would be paying for the cost of Cedar Rapids flood levee construction, to the tune of $14 million per year for 15 years

Source: Christopher J. Koliba, Russell M. Mills and Asim Zia, Public Administration Review, Vol. 71 Issue 2, March/April 2011
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
What is the most effective framework for analyzing complex accountability challenges within governing networks? Recognizing the multiscale and intersector (public, private, and nonprofit) characteristics of these networks, an accountability model is advanced organized around democratic (elected representatives, citizens, and the legal system), market (owners and consumers), as well as administrative (bureaucratic, professional and collaborative) relationships. This concept draws from 2005 events following Hurricane Katrina. Multiple failures of governing networks to plan for and respond to Katrina include a breakdown in democratic, market, and administrative accountability as well as a pervasive confusion over trade-offs between accountability types emerging from crises. This essay offers several useful recommendations for emergency management planners as well as for those who teach and research.

Source: Heather Boushey, Kate Gordon, Center for American Progress, April 7, 2011

Japan's recent disaster focuses our attention on some big questions: How bad could a disaster be on our shores, and how well prepared is our infrastructure? (The answer to the latter question, according to our colleague Donna Cooper, may be "not very.") But there is another question the United States must ponder: What is our industrial base's capacity to handle global or domestic supply chain interruptions, and, more fundamentally, would the United States be able to rebuild after a similar disaster?
Related:
The Importance and Promise of American Manufacturing / Why It Matters if We Make It in America and Where We Stand Today
Source: Michael Ettlinger, Kate Gordon, Center for American Progress, April 7, 2011

Source: Merrill Douglas, American City and County, January 1, 2011

The paper maps are gone. So are the Rolodexes, typed lists, CRT monitors and push-button phones. The workstations where many public safety call takers and dispatchers sit today are less cluttered, more capable and easier to use than their forerunners of 10 or 20 years ago. But, of course, there is still room for improvement, say emergency telecommunications professionals. And those systems at public safety answering points (PSAPs) will need to evolve even further when next-generation 911 (NG-911) technology becomes a reality.

Source: Linda K. Moore, Congressional Research Service, R41208, December 22, 2010

Today's 911 system is built on an infrastructure of analog technology that does not support many of the features that most Americans expect to be part of an emergency response. Efforts to splice newer, digital technologies onto this aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences. Callers to 911, however, generally assume that the newer technologies they are using to place a call are matched by the same level of technology at the 911 call centers, known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). However, this is not always the case.

To modernize the system to provide the quality of service that approaches the expectations of its users will require that the PSAPs, and state, local, and possibly federal emergency communications authorities invest in new technologies. As envisioned by most stakeholders, these new technologies--collectively referred to as Next Generation 911 or NG9-1-1--should incorporate Internet Protocol (IP) standards. An IP-enabled emergency communications network that supports 911 will facilitate interoperability and system resilience; improve connections between 911 call centers; provide more robust capacity; and offer flexibility in receiving and managing calls. The same network can also serve wireless broadband communications for public safety and other emergency personnel, as well as other purposes.