March 4, 2003
GW To Share $5 Million Congressional Appropriation
For First Responder Training Center at Virginia Campus
Appropriations Bill Establishes Response to Emergencies
and Disasters Institute; University’s Partners to Include George
Mason and Shenandoah Universities
By Barbara
Porter
GW will spearhead an effort to create a first responder training center
on its Virginia Campus with funding recently approved by Congress. The
$5 million appropriation will establish the Response to Emergencies
and Disasters Institute (READI) to train firefighters, EMS personnel,
law enforcement, and other healthcare providers in an integrated approach
to major emergencies including terrorism. READI will focus on providing
emergency responders with a thorough understanding of the health and
medical requirements of emergency preparedness while developing and
demonstrating “best practices” for emergency personnel nationwide.
Partnering with GW in this project will be George Mason University and
Shenandoah University.
“This is an opportunity to showcase the academic expertise that
distinguished us even before Sept. 11, 2001, in the area of emergency
preparedness,” says GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “Our
campus in Loudoun County is a vibrant and growing research community
where such a training center can thrive and meet the challenge of developing
programs for preparedness and homeland security with our other academic
partners.”
John F. Williams, MD, EdD, provost and vice president for health affairs,
notes that funding is just the beginning of a long-range collaboration.
“Since the tragic events of Sept. 11, we have worked tirelessly
to advocate ‘best practices’ in the healthcare response to
terrorism. This funding enables us to work quickly to implement training
programs that are needed by our first responders as they are confronted
with a variety of emergency challenges including terrorism.”
“This initiative connects well with our overall academic and research
mission to become a world-class leader in safety and security,”
says John S. Wilson, executive dean of the Virginia Campus. “We
already have significant strength in generating and transferring the
knowledge needed to make our transportation systems more safe and secure,
and READI provides us with a significant medical and public health complement
to that.”
Rep. Frank Wolf (R–VA) says, “Each university brings something
to the table. By combining the talents of George Washington’s medical
school and school of public health, George Mason’s nursing school,
and Shenandoah’s pharmacy school, the center has the potential
to become a premier training facility.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
