Lt. Governor Brown, Senator Mikulski and Congresswoman Edwards Announce Funding in Federal Checkbook to Green-Light Regional Emergency Response Partnership
Prince George’s Hospital Center will serve as a key facility in state-federal partnership to help save lives in event of a large- scale emergency
WASHINGTON, DC (January 8, 2010) – Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown joined U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Congresswoman Donna Edwards today in announcing they’ve successfully secured $2.5 million in the federal checkbook to green-light a new regional emergency response initiative. Prince George’s Hospital Center (PGHC) will serve as a central facility in this state-federal partnership to boost the National Capital Region’s ability to respond to a large-scale medical emergency caused by biological, chemical or nuclear attacks.
The federal funding was included in Congress’ Consolidated Appropriations bill, signed into law last month. Lt. Governor Brown, Dimensions Healthcare System President and CEO G.T. Dunlop Ecker and PGHC neonatal intensive care unit nurse and SEIU member Debbie Wilkes joined Senator Mikulski and Congresswoman Edwards in announcing the funding during a visit to PGHC today.
“Throughout our history, Maryland has played an important leading role in the nation’s security. Because of Senator Mikulski’s and Congresswoman Edwards’ leadership in Washington, Maryland will continue to play that important role,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “The Maryland/National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Partnership will ensure that the Capital region has the medical resources to respond to an attack or disaster and it will go a long way to improve collaboration between our hospitals, improving the quality of care for Prince Georgians and Marylanders across the region.”
“This state-federal partnership deals with a compelling homeland security need,” said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “We are a high-risk and high-threat nation, and today’s threats were unthinkable years ago. With its premier medical and academic institutions, Maryland has a critical role to play in providing a strong, coordinated response to large-scale medical emergencies in the National Capital Region. I promised to fight for these funds to move this emergency response partnership forward. Today, my promises made are promises kept.”
“I am proud that Sen. Mikulski and I were able to secure $2.5 million in federal funding to help make Prince George’s County Hospital Center a key component in the new Maryland/National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Partnership,” said Congresswoman Edwards. “Prince George’s County Hospital already serves 180,000 patients a year, and is the only trauma center serving the region. These additional funds will help ensure that residents of Prince George’s County and the entire Washington, D.C. metropolitan area receive the highest quality emergency medical care through a coordinated response in case of a large-scale medical emergency.”
The Maryland/National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Partnership, or (M/NCR-EPP), will fill a serious gap in the National Capital Region’s ability to respond to a large-scale emergency. M/NCR-EPP will draw on Maryland’s top-notch medical, military and academic institutions to plan for and respond to any regional public health emergency or other disaster that could result in large numbers of casualties. The M/NCR-EPP will ensure that the core region – which even includes areas in neighboring Northern Virginia - will have the requisite public health, hospital, health care delivery system and community surge capacity, including necessary capital, communications, information technology and personnel infrastructure to serve the District of Columbia from the Capitol eastward and into the larger National Capital Region and the State of Maryland.
The initiative involves a partnership between PGHC, Malcolm Grow Medical Center on Andrews Air Force Base, and University of Maryland Medical Systems. PGHC will serve as the central facility for training and surge capacity.
PGHC’s geographic location, access to major transportation arteries and significant physical bed capacity makes it optimally positioned to serve as a high-quality surge capacity trauma center. PGHC is currently Maryland’s second busiest trauma center. It serves approximately 180,000 patients a year and employs more than 1,800 people.
