November 2004

GW Partners in $2 Million Homeland Security Grant

By Richard Sheehe

The US Department of Homeland Security presented GW and George Mason University with a $2 million competitive grant to develop and deliver training sessions for nursing professionals across the country. The goal is to prepare them to respond to victims of an event involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and increase their awareness of WMD risks, vulnerabilities and response requirements.

“In targeting nurses for training, this program will address a sector of the community that really hasn’t been addressed adequately before,” said Suzanne Mencer, director of the Department of Homeland Security Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP). Mencer presented the grant to GW and George Mason officials on George Mason’s campus in Fairfax, VA, on Oct. 21.

“This training will help bring nurses into the critical response loop in dealing with a WMD crisis,” said Dr. John F. Williams, GW’s provost and vice president for health affairs, at the ceremony.

The Competitive Training Grants Program provides funding for training initiatives to further the department’s mission of preparing the nation in the event of a terrorist incident. GW completed a rigorous application process for this grant. Over 217 applications were received and the department selected 14 programs for funding, totaling $33,645,997 to be awarded.

Rep. Frank Wolf, who represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional district and who helped secure the funding, said the issue of terrorism preparedness and response has personal resonance.

“More than 30 people from my own Congressional district died on 9/11,” he said. “The kind of training that we are helping fund today will make an important difference in dealing with future crises, not only for this region, but for the country.”

The training will target nurses in hospitals, clinics, assisted-living facilities, and elsewhere; the training will also include a Web-based component designed to further increase the program’s reach to potential trainees.

“We’re going to be trying to reach nurses in virtually every setting,” said Jean Johnson, GW’s senior associate dean for health sciences.

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