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(Lincoln, NE) Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy, Nebraska’s Director of Homeland Security, announced that Nebraska will receive more than $922,000 in pandemic flu preparedness funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“We are pushing full speed ahead with pandemic flu planning,” Lt. Gov. Sheehy said. “Nebraska has been recognized as a leading state in preparedness and any additional funding that can be used to help us better protect Nebraskans is certainly welcome news.”
The Lt. Governor also announced the date for a statewide summit on pandemic flu, which will be attended by HHS Secretary, Mike Leavitt on Thursday, Feb. 23. The summit is expected to involve health officials and community leaders from across the state. Details on registration for the summit are being finalized and will be announced in the days ahead.
“This day-long summit will provide a forum to talk more about the planning we’ve done at the state-level and help communities lay the groundwork in developing a response plan for an outbreak at the local-level,” Lt. Gov. Sheehy said.
Secretary Leavitt is visiting all 50 states to spur discussion and interaction among state and local leaders on national, regional and local pandemic flu preparations. A total of $100 million was released to U.S. states and territories to help accelerate state and local pandemic flu preparedness efforts. President Bush announced last fall that states would receive additional funding as part of a national strategy to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak.
Dr. Joann Schaefer, Nebraska’s Chief Medical Officer, said, “We’re thrilled to receive this money. This additional funding will help us take the next step and move forward with our state pandemic plan. If a pandemic strikes, state and local communities will be on the front lines so it’s crucial for Nebraska to prepare now.”
Nebraska has been recognized as a leader in pandemic flu preparedness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and was one of only three states in the nation to hold a CDC-sponsored public meeting on pandemic flu preparedness.
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