More sites across Nebraska, now a total of 26, will offer a live satellite
broadcast of a University of Nebraska Medical Center free public education
forum on bioterrorism, Thursday, Nov. 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (CST).
The forum also will be available live on the Internet at: www.unmc.edu/bioterrorism.
Current locations scheduled to receive the satellite broadcast are listed
on the second page.
UNMC experts will address such topics as surveillance and testing, how
infectious diseases are contracted and treated, and the psychological impact
of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and anthrax attacks. People who attend
satellite presentations will have an opportunity to ask questions via fax
or e-mail during a panel discussion.
Panelists scheduled to speak are: Steven Hinrichs, M.D., director of
the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory at UNMC and associate professor of
pathology and microbiology, Phil Smith, M.D., professor and section chief,
UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases; and
Matt Egbert, M.D., psychiatrist, UNMC Department of Psychiatry.
It is important we inform the citizens of Nebraska on issues like bioterrorism,
which have come to light since the attack on the World Trade Center, said
Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. We believe providing education
on these mounting public concerns is one way to help people come to terms
with what has changed the way we live.
Dr. Maurer recently was appointed to lead a task force to ensure the
University of Nebraska campuses are ready to prevent and respond to potential
bioterrorism attacks. The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory, Bioterrorism
Preparedness Lab, a focal point in Nebraska for detecting various biological
agents, was established two years ago. Physicians at UNMC also were part
of a team that received a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to educate Nebraska physicians on the diagnosis of diseases
caused by agents that could be used in biological attacks.
Current Sites for the UNMC Bioterrorism Public Forum
(Those sites marked with an asterisk * are sites that signed up since
the first news release, Oct. 26, was distributed)
*Aurora — Memorial Hospital, Conference Room
*Blair — Washington County Extension Office, 1718 Washington St.
*Clay Center — South Central Research & Extension Center
Columbus — Central Community College, North Education Building, Room
904, 4500 63rd St.
*Fremont — Dodge County Extension Office, 1206 West 23 St.
Grand Island — College Park, Fonner Park Room, 3180 W Hwy 34
*Harrison — Sioux County Courthouse meeting room
*Hastings — Mary Lanning Hospital, Conference Room 1- Ground
Floor, South Addition Hospital
*Hartington — Cedar County Courthouse Annex, basement meeting room
*Holdrege — Phelps County Extension Office, 1308 2nd St.
*Ithaca — Agricultural Research Development Center, 1071 County Road
G
Kearney — UNK Communication Center Building, Room 101, 925 W 25 St
*Kimball — Kimball County Court House, 114 East Third St.
Lincoln — College of Dentistry, Dixon Lecture Hall, 40th & Holdrege
*McCook — McCook Community College Campus, Walsh/Brady Hall, Rm 111,
East 5th and L Street
*Norfolk — Northeast Community College, Lifelong Learning Center,
University Classroom, 601 E Benjamin
*North Platte — Great Plains Regional Medical Center, Platte Room
Omaha (3 sites)
UNMC College of Nursing Cooper Auditorium, 42nd
St. and Dewey Ave. (speakers will be at this location)
NHS Clarkson West Medical Center, 2nd floor conference
room, 144th & Center Streets, East Side of Building
Peter Kiewit Institute of Information Science Technology
and Engineering, 1110 S. 67th St., Room 160
*Ord — Valley County Fairgrounds, 801 S Suite 1
Scottsbluff — University Complex Panhandle Station Room 201, 4502
Ave I
*Seward — Seward County Extension Office, 216 So 9th Street
*Sidney — Western Nebraska Community College, 920 Jackson St
*Wayne — Wayne High School, library, 1200 Providence Rd.
*West Point — Cuming County Extension Office, Courthouse
*York — York County Extension Office-Fairgrounds, 2345 Nebraska Ave.