Gov. Blagojevich announces grants for communities to better prepare for a major emergency or bioterrorist attack
Illinois receives $13.5 million in emergency preparedness grants
for Illinois hospitals and health organizations
SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today awarded more than $13 million in federal grant money to help Illinois’ hospitals and health organizations provide the best care to patients during a major state emergency. As part of the program, grant recipients are required to coordinate an emergency response to a disease outbreak or terrorism attack for their community.
“People across our state deserve the peace of mind of knowing that if a major emergency happened in their hometown, local hospitals are ready to care for them,” said Gov. Blagojevich. “While Illinois is already known as a leader in emergency preparedness and response, these funds will help medical staff and others who help with local emergency response do an even better job of preparing to protect their communities if tragedy strikes.”
The Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) administers the grants under the Health and Human Services agency. Illinois received a total of $15.6 million in HRSA grants with $13.5 million being administered to hospitals and health organizations throughout the state and the remaining dollars earmarked for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
“Outlining key areas of emergency preparedness the hospitals must adhere to in order to utilize the grant money is a way to ensure they have the resources and plans developed to establish a state of readiness in the event of a disaster,” said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director.
Some of the grant requirements include the following:
- Developing mobile trauma and burn supply resources.
- Conducting drills and exercises to test response plans and surge plans.
- POD hospitals (the hospital designated to take the lead in healthcare during a disaster) are required to coordinate with area hospitals and other medical facilities and emergency management partners within their region to assess the availability of an area that could be used for patient care in the event of a major event.
- POD hospitals are responsible for developing a surge plan for their region that provides for triage, treatment and initial stabilization to care for patients affected in mass numbers and they must conduct drills to test those plans.
- POD hospitals will develop plans for isolating highly communicable disease cases and will conduct drills to evaluate the effectiveness of those plans.
- All hospitals will develop an internal procedure to maintain negative pressure isolation for highly infectious diseases and will participate in the state’s efforts to include health care professional volunteers in the statewide registration system.
- All hospitals will identify a mental health team to deploy to the site of a disaster to treat those with behavioral health issues.
- All hospitals will be required to utilize the IDPH electronic hospital bypass system and participate in community –based training and education sessions.
The hospitals use the federal funds for purchasing equipment and resources for the hospitals in the region. Some of the funds are used for educational seminars and incident command staff for medical staff.
“These funds are critical to ensure we are ready to respond to not only a bioterrorist event but a natural disaster or pandemic flu situation,” said Brian Churchill, EMS and disaster coordinator for St. John’s Hospital, the POD hospital for the Springfield area. “We are able to pool our resources and work together with the surrounding hospitals to effectively plan a course of action that aims to stabilize our community.”
Statewide organizations receiving Federal Public Health Preparedness and Response Grants include:
| Emergency Medical Services for Children |
$280,000 |
| Illinois/American Health Education Consortium |
$25,000 |
| Illinois College of Emergency Physicians |
$400,000 |
| Illinois Council of Health Systems Pharmacists |
$90,000 |
| Illinois Hospital Assn. |
$90,000 |
| Illinois Poison Control Center |
$500,000 |
| Illinois State Emergency Nurses Association/ ICEP |
$100,000 |
| IMERT Equipment |
$175,000 |
| IMERT Executive Council |
$100,000 |
| Mental Health Association of Illinois |
$100,000 |
| Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council |
$90,000 |
| U of I College of Dentistry |
$100,000 |
| Subtotal Grants to Statewide Organizations |
$2,050,000 |
Hospitals receiving Federal Public Health Preparedness and Response Grants were:
| Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn |
$502,500 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove |
$126,600 |
| Advocate Good Shephard Hospital, Barrington |
$54,000 |
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago |
$460,000 |
| Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge |
$56,500 |
| Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago |
$2,500 |
| Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village |
$56,500 |
| Alton Memorial Hospital, Alton |
$70,100 |
| Belleville Memorial Hospital, Belleville |
$677,500 |
| Blessing Hospital, Quincy |
$124,100 |
| Bromenn Regional Medical Center, Normal |
$124,100 |
| Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale |
$502,500 |
| Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana |
$502,500 |
| Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield |
$124,100 |
| Childrens Memorial Hospital, Chicago |
$27,000 |
| Community Hospital of Ottawa, Ottawa |
$70,100 |
| Condell Medical Center, Libertyville |
$126,600 |
| Crawford Memorial Hospital, Robinson |
$70,100 |
| Delnor Community Hospital, Geneva |
$124,100 |
| Edward Hospital, Naperville |
$126,600 |
| Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst |
$54,000 |
| Evanston Hospital, Evanston |
$54,000 |
| Fairfield Memorial Hospital, Fairfield |
$70,100 |
| Galesburg Cottage Hospital, Galesburg |
$124,100 |
| Glenbrook Hospital, Glenview |
$54,000 |
| Glenoaks Medical Center, Glendale Heights |
$54,000 |
| Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Melrose Park |
$56,500 |
| Heartland Regional Medical Center, Marion |
$70,100 |
| Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park |
$502,500 |
| Hinsdale Hospital, Hinsdale |
$54,000 |
| Illini Hospital, Rock Island |
$70,100 |
| Illinois Valley Community Hospital, Peru |
$70,100 |
| Ingalls Hospital, Harvey |
$72,600 |
| Jersey Community Hospital, Jerseyville |
$70,100 |
| John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago |
$27,000 |
| Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, Dixon |
$70,100 |
| Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital, Inc., East St. Louis |
$56,500 |
| Kewanee Hospital, Kewanee |
$70,100 |
| Kishwaukee Community Hospital, DeKalb |
$72,600 |
| Lake Forest Hospital, Lake Forest |
$54,000 |
| Loyola University Hospital, Maywood |
$502,500 |
| MacNeal Memorial hospital, Berwyn |
$54,000 |
| Massac Memorial Hospital, Metropolis |
$70,100 |
| McDonough District Hospital, Macomb |
$72,600 |
| Memorial Hospital - Woodstock, Woodstock |
$54,000 |
| Memorial Medical Center, Springfield |
$376,500 |
| Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria |
$54,000 |
| Morris Hospital, Morris |
$54,000 |
| Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Chicago |
$27,000 |
| Northern Illinois Medical Center, McHenry |
$124,100 |
| Northwest Community Healthcare, Arlington Heights |
$126,600 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago |
$62,050 |
| OSF St. Joseph's Medical Center, Bloomington |
$126,600 |
| Passavant Area Hospital, Jacksonville |
$70,100 |
| Provena Covenant Medical Center, Urbana |
$70,100 |
| Provena Mercy Center, Aurora |
$54,000 |
| Provena St. Joseph Hospital, Elgin |
$124,100 |
| Provena St. Joseph Medical Center, Joliet |
$126,600 |
| Provena St. Mary's Hospital, Kankakee |
$124,100 |
| Provena United Samaritan Medical, Danville |
$56,500 |
| RHC St. Francis Hospital of Evanston, Evanston |
$126,600 |
| Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee |
$124,100 |
| Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford |
$502,500 |
| Rush North Shore Medical Center, Skokie |
$54,000 |
| Rush-Copley Medical Center, Aurora |
$56,500 |
| Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon |
$70,100 |
| Sherman Hospital, Elgin |
$502,500 |
| Silver Cross Hospital, Joliet |
$126,600 |
| Southwestern IL Health Facilities/Anderson Area Hospital, Maryville |
$70,100 |
| St Mary's Hospital, Decatur |
$72,600 |
| St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates |
$54,000 |
| St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford |
$126,600 |
| St. Anthony's Health Center, Alton |
$70,100 |
| St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria |
$502,500 |
| St. James Hospital, Pontiac |
$70,100 |
| St. James Olympia Fields Osteopathic Hospital and Medical Center, Olympia Fields |
$2,500 |
| St. John's Hospital, Springfield |
$376,500 |
| St. Mary's Good Samaritan, Inc, Mount Vernon |
$70,100 |
| St. Mary's Hospital, Streator |
$70,100 |
| St. Mary's Hospital, Centralia |
$70,100 |
| SwedishAmerican Hospital, Rockford |
$54,000 |
| Trinity Medical Center, Rock Island |
$70,100 |
| University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago |
$62,050 |
| Vista Health - St. Therese Medical Center, Waukegan |
$54,000 |
| Vista Health - Victory Memorial Hospital, Waukegan |
$124,100 |
| Subtotal Grants to Hospitals |
$11,466,500 |
| Total All Grants |
$13,516,500 |
The grants build upon the state’s ongoing homeland security and preparedness efforts, including:
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This year, Illinois retained the nation's highest rating ("Green") from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to manage the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) during an act of bioterrorism or other mass casualty event. Illinois has earned this rating for the last three years.
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In July 2005, Gov. Blagojevich signed a bill into law requiring the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to create a database of all thelicensed medical professionals in the state.The registry will include all active-status health care professionals who could be contacted to volunteer their medical skills during emergencies.
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In March 2004, Gov. Blagojevich implemented the Illinois-National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (I-NEDSS), a secure, Web-based system for hospitals, doctors and other health care providers to electronically report infectious diseases. The system allows medical professionals and public health officials to effectively respond to public health emergencies immediately. I-NEDSS is part of a nation-wide system linking state and local public health departments with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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In March 2004, the administration launched a Web-based version of the hospital bypass system that provides the state with up-to-the-minute information from more than 200 hospitals in Illinois on the availability of beds and other critical health care services necessary to guide the response to an act of terrorism or other public health emergencies.
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Under the Blagojevich Administration, the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) has expanded to 12 teams and 1,277 participants. IMERT responds and assists with emergency medical treatment of mass casualty incidents when activated by the Director of Public Health. Each team consists of a physician, nurse, paramedic and an EMT that volunteer their time. The state continues to recruit more volunteers to participate in this effort. 51 IMERT members were deployed to assist in Hurricane Katrina response efforts in September.
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The Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) is a partnership with Chicago, St. Louis and neighboring states, which focuses on conducting readiness exercises between large metropolitan areas and states and how the different entities can work together on preparedness.
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The state created the Illinois Public Health Mutual Aid System (IPHMAS) last year to strengthen the preparedness of the public health system in Illinois. Gov. Blagojevich called on all the local health departments throughout the state to sign on to the project, which provides for the sharing of resources in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other emergency. All 95 local health departments in the state heeded the governor’s call to action and signed on to participate in the system. The pact provides personnel, equipment, and supplies assistance to a stricken area by local health departments.
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The Chem-Pack project is an initiative geared toward raising preparedness efforts related to responding to chemical or nerve agent terrorist attacks. Illinois distributed the chem-packs last fall to hospitals around the state to protect against a nerve agent attack. The packs contain medicine to treat nerve agent exposure.
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The State Weapons of Mass Destruction (SWMD) Team is a multi-agency effort including the Illinois State Police, Secretary of State Police, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The team is trained to respond to a biological, chemical or radiological agent attack. Specially trained individuals determine what type of agent has been used and how to respond.
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