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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2003
MEDIA CONTACT: Roxann Henze, (703)726-8302, rhenze@va.gwu.edu Partners Include George Mason and
Shenandoah Universities
Washington, D.C. - The George Washington University will spearhead an effort to create a first responder training center on its Virginia Campus in Loudoun County with funding included in the FY '03 spending bill approved by Congress. The $5 million dollar appropriation will establish the Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute, or 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 9-11 in the area of emergency preparedness," said 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, GW Provost and Vice President for Health Affairs, noted that funding is just the beginning of a long-range collaboration. "Since the tragic events of 9-11, 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," said Dr. John S. Wilson, executive dean of The George Washington University 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." Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said, "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 become a premier training facility." READI will work closely with the recently established Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security at the Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon. For more information on GW's preparedness initiatives contact Daniel Kaniewski, executive director of the Center for Emergency Preparedness at 202-423-4940 or go to www.gwumc.edu and click on the Center's new website. The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center, which has consistently provided high quality medical care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1825. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation's capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and Universal Health Services, Inc.; and GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit http://www.gwumc.edu. Conveniently located in the Northern Virginia technology corridor near Dulles International Airport, the GW Virginia Campus is the University's Research and Technology Campus. The 90-acre campus is a robust cluster of executive education and technology programs and world-class research initiatives in transportation safety and security, information technology and telecommunications. Since opening in August 1991, the campus has experienced a tenfold increase in its students base and grown annual research funding from $50,000 to more than $7 million. For more news about GW, visit the GW News Center at http://www.gwnewscenter.org - GW -
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© 1998 The George Washington University
Virginia Campus
20101 Academic Way
Ashburn, Virginia 20147-2604
(703) 729-8300 Voice (703) 729-7244 Fax