NSU-COM Receives $4.8 Million in HRSA Bioterrorism Grants

In September, the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Center on Bioterrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness (CB-PREP) took another step toward statewide preeminence when it received two U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants totaling $4.8 million that target interdisciplinary bioterrorism preparedness curriculum development and continuing education.

The three-year, $4.2 million continuing education grant will help the college train practicing health professionals who are located throughout South Florida and represent a variety of health care disciplines. In addition, NSU-COM will be partnering with neighboring Broward Community College through a subcontract to provide additional training to health professionals who require two years or less to earn their professional degrees. James Howell, M.D., M.P.H., professor and chair of the Department of Rural Medicine, has been designated to serve as project director of the grant.

“In this partnership, we become major players in the state of Florida in the provision of education for health professionals in training and health professionals in practice,” said Leonard Levy, D.P.M., M.P.H., who serves as acting director of the college’s CB-PREP. “As a result, we will be helping health professionals to better prepare to react to acts of bioterrorism and other catastrophes such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. This is a major responsibility, and we don’t accept it lightly.”

The second grant—a three-year, $600,000 fiscal award— will assist the CB-PREP to plan, develop, and provide a curriculum that prepares health professional students to work as a coordinated team in the event of bioterrorism, acts employing weapons of mass destruction, natural disasters such as hurricanes, or other catastrophes. To accomplish this task, students are provided the requisite knowledge and skills through discussions provided by experts in the field, case studies, and responses to events simulating actual events. To assure students achieve identified competencies, they are evaluated through the use of a series of scenarios employing trained people who—in a standardized way—simulate casualties that could occur in the event of terrorist acts or natural disasters.

“These evaluation techniques allow for the assessment of all students’ knowledge, how they employ that knowledge, and the way they interact with other members of the response team and casualty victims,” said Dr. Levy, who is serving as project director of the $600,000 curriculum development grant. “Because Florida has so many tourists and temporary residents, students also learn how to reach them and other hard-to-reach populations, including the home-bound, the physically and mentally challenged, and the homeless.”

In addition to NSU-COM medical students, curriculum development includes training other NSU Health Professions Division students who are studying to become dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, nurses, public health professionals, occupational therapists, physical therapists, audiologists, and physician assistants. Psychologists and health care administrators are also trained in the program. Faculty development seminars prepare those responsible for the education of students to properly respond to bioterrorism and other catastrophic events. Vehicles to facilitate the educational process include classroom activities, demonstrations, and computer-based interactive learning.

The CB-PREP, which has an existing $530,000-plus grant from the Florida Department of Health to conduct bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction training seminars for the state’s public and private schools, now has over $5.3 million in funding to be a comprehensive education, training, and research resource for the health care community and the community at large. The new grants require the addition of eight new administrative, faculty, and staff positions to assist with the center’s increased responsibilities.

“As a result of receiving these grants, we have become a major resource in the state of Florida in providing bioterrorism and disaster preparedness training for health workers at every level,” Dr. Levy said. “The participants will learn how to work together synergistically to achieve the best response in potentially catastrophic situations.”