Denver Health has been awarded 11 private, state and federal grants totaling $6.8 million to help Colorado and the nation prepare to respond to the medical demands that would arise should a terrorism disaster involving mass casualties occur.
Rocky Mountain Regional Care Model for Bioterrorist Events (model used at the 2004 Summer Olympics)
$452,386, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Denver Health developed a Rocky Mountain Regional Care Model for Bioterrorism Preparedness that addressed medical surge capacity needs for Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. This project included participants from the U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Public Health Service, national Medical Disaster System, Department of Veterans Affairs, Bioterrorism Directors from each of the six State’s Department of Public Health, the Colorado Hospital Association and various local hospitals and County Health Departments.
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Disaster Response Hotlines $50,000 Castle Rock Foundation and $50,000 Avaya, Inc.
Denver Health instituted technology improvements to its phone systems to increase overall call capacity during a disaster while maintaining current services of Denver Health’s Medical Contact Centers (Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, Denver Health Nurse Line).
Rocky Mountain Regional Health Emergency Assistance Line and Triage Hub Model $267,056, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
This grant established a sophisticated call system that can handle 1,000 calls an hour to provide information to the “worried well” in a disaster. It also created the foundation for CO HELP, the Colorado hotline used regularly to help the public with health issues such as West Nile Virus and flu.
Biological, Nuclear, Incendiary, Chemical and Explosive Training center (BNICE) $2,064,458
This is an ongoing training program to provide extensive terrorism preparedness training for 9,000 health care professionals throughout Colorado, including physicians, nurses, mental health workers, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, respiratory therapists, paramedics and EMTs, physician assistants, public health providers and nurse practitioners.
Denver Center for Public Health Preparedness $1,615,737, Centers for Disease Control
Local health departments throughout the Rocky Mountain Region received on-site training on how to set up and manage integrated command systems for disasters. This grant also created a distance learning system online to use for training local public health departments, and developed a system for predicting when symptoms or illnesses are occurring in the community at higher than a normal rate, so that dangerous trends can be identified.
Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism $983,218, Centers for Disease Control
This grant:
- Planned for mass vaccinations to combat emerging infectious diseases resulting from bioterrorism.
- Explored ways to vaccinate everyone in Denver County in 24 hours.
- Enhanced laboratory ability to detect bioterrorism agents.
- Created an integrated wireless system for access to electronic data in the disease registry systems.
Standardized “Real Time” National Hospital Bed Availability and Patient Tracking System $682,585, Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research
Denver Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs are working together to demonstrate the feasibility of a real-time electronic hospital bed availability monitoring system for use in time of mass casualty events.
Homeland Security, HRSA Supplemental Pharmaceuticals $14,000, HRSA through State Department of Public Health and Environment
Denver Health purchased all hazards preparedness pharmaceuticals to ensure high levels of hospital preparedness for all medical emergencies involving hazards such as nerve agents, chemical burns, and biological agents like anthrax and plague.
Denver Metropolitan Medical Response System FY2004 Program $400,000, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
This grant is to improve response capabilities and expand established capabilities for preparedness for mass casualty events. This program has established response resources including antibiotic and antidote stockpiles, four mass decontamination units, first responder stockpile of personnel protective equipment and hospital preparedness resources for the five county metro Denver area.
Colorado Health Emergency Line for the Public (CO HELP) $200,000, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Denver Health developed a hotline called CO HELP for the public and healthcare providers to obtain the latest information about health events such as West Nile Virus (WNV) and influenza. The hotline will also collect information used for surveillance of outbreaks such as dead bird reports for WNV. In 2004 CO HELP handled 44,000 calls and supplied data about these calls to state and local health departments so they could better plan response strategies.
Real-time toxicosurvillance of poison center data $50,000, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
This grant evaluated poison center data from Colorado to determine any unusual patterns of clinical effects reported and what they may signal. This pilot detected an event in Colorado Springs where several teens were exposed to an "herbal ecstasy" supplement that resulted in seizures and other health problems. This system is useful for daily surveillance, but could also detect a bioterrorism event if one were to occur.
TOTAL: $6,839,440