RANSON, W.Va. – West Virginia University Hospitals-East’s Jefferson Memorial Hospital has been awarded a Homeland Security grant for $18,754 to update the hospital’s emergency management plan and fund National Incident Management System (NIMS) training.
More than $1.2 million in state Homeland Security grants have been awarded to West Virginia Homeland Security Region 3 to support training and equipment for emergency responders throughout the region. The region is comprised of agencies in the following seven counties of the Eastern Panhandle: Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, and Mineral.
"Tactics are constantly changing the war on terrorism. We know the initial response to an incident is local and it is essential that we provide complete and up-to-date training for the people working to respond locally should such an act occur,” said Pamela Holstein-Wallace, WV Homeland Security Region III Coordinator.
The grant money will be used to review and update Jefferson Memorial Hospital’s emergency management plan based on recent building redesign. “With recent facility changes and the opening of our new emergency department, we need to update our plan for adequacy and relevance,” stated Jeff Jeffries, RN, emergency department clinical coordinator and disaster preparedness coordinator at the hospital.
The funding decisions for these Homeland Security grants are made locally by a multi-discipline, multi-jurisdictional group of volunteers. Prior to the inception of a regional approach to planning and training, funding decisions were made in Charleston by a few people for masses.
"I am very proud of the Regional Committee" Holstein-Wallace said. "While the people rotate on and off the Committee we work to represent all counties and multiple agencies throughout the region, having expert representation from various different fields.