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Horizon Awards Announced to Upgrade Terrorism and SARS Preparedness

Horizon Foundation President & CEO Richard M. Krieg today announced the award of a series of grants totaling $318,645 to improve Howard County's resilience in the face of the regional terrorist threat or potential SARS outbreak.

Krieg said, "If a major terrorist event occurs in the region, the health and wellness of County residents could be severely effected. These types of contingencies, or the possibility of a future SARS outbreak, require maximum preparedness." He added, "The good news is that upgrading systems, programs and personnel for emergency purposes provides many dividends when it comes to more typical health concerns."

Krieg said the largest grant of $126,109 was awarded to Howard County General Hospital to provide equipment and protective gear to upgrade the Hospital's ability to handle infectious cases, whether emanating from a regional biological attack or SARS. The grant provides 96 Tyvek coveralls to protect Hospital personnel, 60 Powered Air Purifying Respirators and portable HEPA filtration units and filters. The award also provides a communications upgrade for emergency information transfer, terrorism-related pharmaceuticals and an expanded linen supply for highly infectious cases.

A grant of $48,800 was awarded to the Volunteer Center Serving Howard County that will enable the Center to increase its volunteer recruitment efforts, orient its program towards disaster preparedness and assist the County in emergency shelter planning. The Howard County Office of Children's Services received a $39,124 award to increase the preparedness level of 500 child care professionals through training and technical assistance. Parish Nurse Ministries of Howard County was awarded $34,500 to prepare parish nurses and Howard County's faith communities in the areas of crisis and emergency response.

The Foundation also awarded $25,923 to the Howard County Public School system for specialized communications gear to facilitate information flow between the public schools and the County's Emergency Operations Center following a disaster. An additional $44,189 was provided to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue to train approximately 200 community volunteers who would participate in post-disaster mitigation efforts.

Krieg also announced additional grants totaling $138,703 that included: an award to the Association of Community Services to improve its public policy and community activism functions; an grant to the Korean American Association of Howard County to assess the healthcare and crisis needs of the Korean American community; a grant to the Maryland Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped to assist dental care for low-income County residents; and an award to FISH of Howard County to provide pharmacy assistance to low-income County residents.