NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA August 22, 2008 CONTACT: Robert Kenny: (202) 418-2668 Email: robert.kenny@fcc.gov FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES DATE CHANGE AND AGENDA FOR SUMMIT ON PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS Summit to be Held on New Date – Thursday, September 18, 2008 Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) today announced that it has changed the date for its Summit on Pandemic Preparedness: Enhancing Communications Response for Health Care and First Responders, to Thursday, September 18, 2008, 9:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305). The Commission had previously scheduled the Summit for September 16th. The Summit will focus on communications and coordination between the health care sector, first responders, government and the communications industry in preparation for a pandemic. The panel discussions will also highlight ways that communications may be expanded and enhanced in response to a pandemic and how the communications industry will serve an instrumental role in such a response (see agenda below). The Summit will be open to the public; admittance however will be limited to the seating available. Those individuals who are interested in attending the summit may pre-register on-line at: http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/summits. Those who pre-register will be asked to provide their name, title, organization affiliation, and contact information. Individuals may also contact Sue Gilgenbach at 202-418-0639 regarding pre-registration. The deadline for pre-registration is Monday, September 15, 2008. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC's web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio. The FCC’s web cast is free to the public and does not require pre-registration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please include a description of the accommodation you will need. Individuals making such requests must include their contact information should FCC staff need to contact them for more information. Requests should be made as early as possible. Please send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). For additional information about the meeting, please contact Susan McLean at (202) 418-7868 or by email: susan.mclean@fcc.gov. SUMMIT ON PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS Enhancing Communications Response for Health Care and First Responders Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305) 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554 Thursday, September 18, 2008 9:00 a.m. – Welcome · Derek Poarch, Chief, FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) 9:10 a.m. – Opening Remarks 9:25 a.m. – Introductory Remarks - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) · Kevin Yeskey, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS 9:35 a.m. – Presentation: FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program – An update on how telehealth services will be instrumental in providing quality care during a pandemic. · Dana Shaffer, Bureau Chief, FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau 9:45 a.m. – Panel One: Will examine the communications and coordination being undertaken between hospitals, first responders, government and the communications industry in preparation for a pandemic or widespread disease outbreak – including the communications currently in place and the emergence of new technologies aimed at enhancing the overall communications response. The panelists will discuss issues related to surge capacity, emergency preparedness plans, telehealth networks and social distancing/quarantine. · Moderator: Victoria Velez, Deputy Division Chief, Public Communications Outreach and Operations Division, PSHSB PANELISTS: · Terry Adirim, M.D., MPH, Medical Advisor, Office of Health Affairs, US Department of Homeland Security · Charles Dowd, Deputy Chief, Commanding Officer, Communications Division, New York City Police Department · Bryan Gorman, Senior Research Associate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory · Ivan J. Gotham, Ph.D., Director, Bureau Healthcom Network Systems Management, New York State Department of Health · Deborah Levy, Ph.D., MPH, CAPT, US Public Health Service, Chief, Healthcare Preparedness Activity, Office of the Director, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Preparedness, Detection, & Control of Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention · Patrick McCrummen, Vice-President of Communications & Marketing, American Red Cross · Kathy Robinson, Program Manager, National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials · Scott Sproat, M.S., FACHE, Interim Service Chief, Terrorism Preparedness & Emergency Response, Oklahoma State Department of Health 11:15 a.m. – Break 11:30 a.m. – Panel Two: Will focus on the communications industry’s preparedness and response capabilities in a pandemic and how they would interact with the various affected parties during such an emergency. This will include information on how industry would maintain operations during a pandemic so that it has the capacity to provide support to the health care sector, first responder agencies and government during a response to a pandemic. Moderator: Jeffrey Goldthorp, Division Chief, Communications Systems Analysis Division, PSHSB PANELISTS: · Brian Allen, Senior Director Corporate Security, Time Warner Cable · Christopher Guttman-McCabe, Vice-President Regulatory Affairs, CTIA · Ron Laudner, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, OmniTel Communications, Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunication Companies · Robert Mayer, Vice-President, Industry & State Affairs, US Telecom Association · Andy Skotdal, President/GM of KRKO-AM, Everett, WA, National Association of Broadcasters 1:00 p.m. – Closing Remarks · Chief Poarch, PSHSB 1:15 p.m. – Summit Concludes -FCC-