May 20, 2004

Dear Healthcare Provider,

The California Emergency Medical Services Authority is pleased to provide healthcare providers across the State of California with this training program:

CBRNE emergencies increasingly threaten the health and safety of people worldwide. Chemical and biological agents have been used to create fear and cause harm. Explosives are frequently used to injure and kill large numbers of people. Although radiation dispersal devices – commonly called “dirty bombs”— and nuclear weapons have not been used by terrorists to date, their potential use is a serious problem.

California’s healthcare providers must be prepared to respond to disasters and emergencies, whether intentional or accidental, that may occur. CBRNE emergencies now pose new challenges to healthcare providers. Education and training is an important element to prepare California’s healthcare providers to respond effectively to these threats.

This exciting, interactive CD-ROM will help prepare healthcare personnel for CBRNE emergencies. This program is designed for everyone: care providers, support personnel and administrators in hospitals, clinics, EMS, public health, MD offices and other medical and health providers. It covers the threats likely to cause a CBRNE emergency, preparedness actions and safety measures that all staff should know in the event of a CBRNE emergency. This program can be utilized as First Responder Awareness (FRA) training as defined by OSHA.

This program was developed by California’s Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Program (HBPP), funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and is provided at no cost to healthcare providers in the State. We wish to recognize the efforts of the Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Planning Committee in developing the curriculum with the goal of providing standardized training for healthcare providers across the State of California.