Enough FEMA Bashing

According to a recent story in the Dallas Morning News, too many people expect FEMA to be the nation’s 911.  Yet experts are saying clearly that cities and states must be the first line of response.

According to Bruce Nichols, author of the article, “The agency was never meant to respond the way local police, fire and ambulance services answer 911 calls, many in the emergency management community say, and it shouldn't be FEMA's role. They believe the federal government should intervene only if the scope of the catastrophe is too great for local and state officials to handle.” The article also discusses the benefits of local control and the significant risks of transferring that control to the federal government.

Jeb Bush is quoted from an Op Ed piece originally published in the Washington Post, "If the federal government removes control of preparation, relief and recovery from cities and states, those cities and states will lose the interest, innovation and zeal for emergency response that has made Florida's response system better."

For the complete article, which may require registration, go to:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101105.html

While Katrina has disrupted healthcare for millions of people, one beneficial outcome may be more public and private efforts to develop a national electronic health records (EHR) system.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt stressed the value of a national e-health system that could prevent people from losing their medical records in the case of a pandemic or natural disaster. Several days after the hurricane hit, Leavitt announced the 16 members of a new federal advisory committee formed to spur development of an interoperable national EHR system. The panel includes CMS Administrator Mark McClellan plus executives from health plans, insurers and IT companies.

For the full article, go to: www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/mhe/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=183302

Other articles this week highlight private sector success stories and initiatives, detailing the importance of self-reliance versus overdependence on FEMA and others coming to the rescue.  Here are some links for articles that might help justify the business continuity expenditures that are so often difficult to sell to upper management:

Data Recovery Site Selection/Distance

With so many companies realizing their disaster recovery sites need to be in a separate geographical location from their businesses, one question keeps coming up: How far away is far enough?

“You have to be far enough away to be beyond the immediate threat you are planning for,” Jim Grogan, vice president of consulting product development at SunGard Availability Services, told Robb. “At the same time, you have to be close enough for it to be practical to get to the remote facility rapidly, preferably by car.”

To read the full article, click here:

http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/continuity/features/article.php/3552971

Corporate Success Stories and Initiatives

Several articles, links below, highlight lessons learned by the worldwide consulting firm Booz Allen, McDonald’s, Entergy and others:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/09/AR2.html

http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/24/18/05/index.html