Money is the key element in preparing for emergencies. From smoke alarms to seat belts in cars to safety caps on prescription bottles to annual flu vaccinations, there are numerous ways we protect ourselves every day, and it all costs money.

But the idea of being prepared for emergencies has changed radically since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Before the attacks, the idea of bioterrorism or terrorist attack was not really on most people’s radar.

Add to terrorism the fears of a pandemic flu, tuberculosis and other diseases that can vault across the globe in a flash, and emergency planners have more than a full plate.

Since Sept. 11, preparedness plans have been implemented across the country, including the Coulee Region, designed to protect as many citizens as possible. Counties and cities are collaborating to find efficient ways of treating thousands of people in a very short time-frame.

The federal government has made disaster preparedness a national priority and has provided funding through the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services and other governmental agencies coordinating response to threats.

According to Doug Mormann, director of the La Crosse County Public Health Department, President Bush’s budget request for the next fiscal year reflects a growing belief that states need to bear some of the costs for disaster preparedness.

Bush’s budget assumes states will pick up 5 percent of costs in 2008 and 10 percent in 2009. While currently being debated in Madison, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget, as proposed, reflects no line items for emergency preparedness.

Bush’s proposed budget request for 2008 fiscal year, currently being debated in Congress, represents $46.4 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. This is an 8 percent increase over 2007’s budget for homeland security.

Approximately 7 percent, or $3.2 billion, will be available for state and local preparedness expenditures. That is down from $3.6 billion in 2006 and $3.5 billion in 2007. That’s assuming his budget is passed by Congress.

If approved, of $3.2 billion, $2.9 billion will go toward the Public Safety Interoperability Communications grant program that will allow fire departments and other emergency responders to upgrade communication equipment.

Another $300 million will go toward Assistance to Firefighter Grants. This is down significantly from $662 million in 2007.

All the states would share in the remaining $1.9 billion 2008 allocation. In 2007, Wisconsin received approximately $11 million in emergency preparedness funds and the La Crosse County Public Health Department received $52,500 of those federal funds — about 48 cents per citizen of La Crosse County.

There is another $360,000 shared by a consortium comprised of the Ho Chunk Nation and Buffalo, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Jackson and Monroe counties.

With 48 cents per person, the county must prepare for every kind of emergency, from tornadoes to floods to a hazardous material spill, an anthrax scare to a pandemic flu outbreak. The county is charged with establishing efficient communication links with responder units. They must prepare for what the chain of command would tell them if all the cell phones became inoperable. The county must make sure it is a priority phone call to get communication established with hospitals.

There are 225 tasks the county has to accomplish in 2007 to meet federal guidelines for emergency preparedness. There is an expectation that the county is using its 48 cents wisely. They must prove personnel are competent in their jobs, they must provide for interpreters, ensure the protection of shut-ins and decide who will get medicine and who doesn’t in the event of a shortage.

The county has to prepare for incidents — such as terrorist attack, industrial disaster or pandemic flu — where mortuaries and hospitals would be overwhelmed.

They have to protect as well as distribute vaccines. The county will make decisions on who is quarantined, who goes to work, which schools are closed. This is all in collaboration with other agencies such as police, firefighters, emergency responders, hospitals and social services.

Through normal attrition of staff, the county has to deal with losing trained people through retirement or relocations. Staff has to participate in continuous education. This happens through different kinds of exercises, such as the anthrax exercise conducted by the U.S. Post Office, through table-top exercises, functional exercises and full scale simulations.

Knowing only 48 cents per person is allocated to the county for emergency preparedness, citizens need to take it upon themselves to prepare. Officials from the White House to the county level emphasize that communities and individuals, in particular, must shoulder the burden of dealing with disaster aftermaths.

Examples of things people can do as individuals and families to prepare for emergencies include putting together disaster kits, getting annual flu vaccines, going through Community Emergency Response Team training programs or participate in simulated exercises to test the capabilities of the system.

“It’s the 110,000 individual decisions that determine how much death and illness will occur,” Mormann said.

Contact Jo Anne Killeen at joanne.killeen@lee.net or 786-6816.

ON THE WEB: For more resources and information relating to emergency preparedness, log onto www.ready.gov or

www.fema.gov. A disaster preparedness manual — “Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness” — is available online at www.fema.gov/areyouready.

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