Education against Terrorism
Diane Chun,
Sun Medical Writer
The Gainesville Sun
 
Seven Florida universities are uniting in a strike against terrorism.
Their weapon: education.

Experts in such areas as weapons of mass destruction and biological defense are moving to the front line to train health-care providers and the public how to respond to any future act of terrorism.

Officials will first focus on training the health-care providers who are likely to be first-responders in the event of a bioterrorist attack - such as the spread of anthrax spores or smallpox virus - then on educating the supervisory health practitioners who train others.

Representatives of the state-funded Area Health Education Centers and the Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation also are part of the alliance, which aims to have a completed curriculum by Aug. 30, 2003, and to activate all facets of training statewide within three years.

Although Florida will be the first beneficiary of the federally supported effort, planners see the formation of a university alliance as an opportunity to lead the nation in weapons-of-mass-destruction preparedness training.

To fund the project, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated $6.5 million to the Florida Department of Health, which in turn is contracting with the state universities to design and implement the training program. The educational initiative is part of a larger CDC effort, backed by $40.5 million in federal funds, to address all key aspects of public defense against potential attacks.

"To see the state's universities collaborate on an issue of urgent concern to the entire state is unprecedented," said Jack Pittman, director of Florida's Office of Public Health Preparedness.

The concept of a university alliance is the brainchild of Dr. David Seaberg, associate chairman of emergency medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine and president of the Florida College of Emergency Medicine. Seaberg has been designated the project coordinator.

"It seemed obvious that working together could lead to something better for Florida," Seaberg said. "We know a lot of bioterrorism preparedness training programs exist, but our goal is to select the best and tailor the courses to needs in Florida. The ultimate training program we develop must be practical enough for easy implementation by health practitioners and the public, and must be easy to perpetuate and keep up to date."

Collectively, the universities will work to meet 14 educational objectives identified by the Department of Health. Specific projects will be carried out by faculty members at Florida State University and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee; Florida International University in Miami; Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale; the University of South Florida at Tampa; the University of Miami and UF.

UF College of Medicine physician-scientist James Crawford will lead a project to develop specialty courses for all general, middle-level and advanced health-care providers.

Crawford, who chairs UF's department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine, said, "The mission of our alliance is to ensure that people at all levels - hospital and clinic housekeepers, clerical and secretarial staff, technicians, and senior-level health-care providers and managers - are educated in how to deal with a bioterrorist attack."

Crawford added, "The overall educational effort also will include preparing mental and behavioral health specialists in how to counsel, console and give guidance to people stressed and traumatized by what may be tragic events."

Once the information on bioterrorism preparedness has been assembled, leaders of the Area Health Education Centers and faculty from NOVA Southeastern will determine how to best get it out to the public.

"This as more than an important assignment; it's a responsibility," Crawford said.

Diane Chun can be reached at (352) 374-5041 or chund@gvillesun.com