Pandemic Summit to be held in Spartanburg

A Summit is planned to help facilitate community-wide preparedness among leaders of local government, businesses, faith organizations, healthcare providers and schools. Local stakeholders are encouraged to attend and participate in the planning process.

Goals of the summit include raising awareness about the local impact of a pandemic event, discussing the need for pre-planning as a community, developing a preparedness plan for continuity of operations during a pandemic event and planning a local exercise.

As part of President Bush’s plan to mobilize the nation to prepare for an influenza pandemic, Health and Human Services has allocated $100 million in funding for state and local preparedness.

These funds are available to states and municipalities to accelerate and intensify current planning efforts for pandemic influenza and to exercise their plans. The focus is on practical, community-based procedures that could prevent or delay the spread of pandemic influenza, and help to reduce the burden of illness communities would contend with during an outbreak.

Pandemics happen globally but must be managed at the state and local level, and these funds will help communities meet that responsibility. We have the opportunity to become the first generation in history to prepare for a pandemic.