Several adjuncts to proposals for funding also may be helpful. Th e fi rst is that
the hospital must seek federal, state, and city recognition for the achievements of
the hospital. Th e positive press will assist in promoting the hospital as a deserving
institution. In addition, the more known the hospital is, the more likely the positive
press to the politician who assists the hospital in securing funding.
Th e hospital must solicit continued press coverage even after the remainder of
the hospitals in the area have stepped down from alert status. As long as the hospital
remains in the press, the impetus to provide aid remains. Once the positive press
stops, the attention span of the public can be very short, as is the attention span
of the press in covering the story. Politicians seem to have the same attention span
issues.
In summary, the proposals for government grants and funding are diffi cult and
resource exhausting. Th e process must not be entered into without planning and
consideration. Th e hospital would do well to consult a lobbyist agency and a grant
writer to assist in the request procedure.
Quick Look Resource
1. Policies of government and the beliefs that drive the administration defi ne
funding priorities.
2. Government needs to be dedicated to the funding of practical solutions in
disasters.
3. Limited pools of federal funds are available for disaster management; there
are many priorities to serve.
4. Four methods to combat terrorism, each with its own advantages and
disadvantages.
5. First: Negotiation and Diplomacy: best method, using logic and compromise.
6. Second: Military action can be eff ective if swift and decisive and backed with
sound logic.
7. Th e problem is that military strikes can engender fi erce patriotism, resistance,
and martyrdom.
8. Reserve military aggression for most dire circumstances; too risky to be
presumptive.
9. Th ird: Security and Intelligence: two goals at opposite ends of terrorist action.
10. First goal is to discover and thwart terrorist plot before it is actuated (most
desired).
11. Second goal is to thwart the terrorist eff orts at or before the target zone.
12. Can lull the public into false sense of security that mitigation funding not
necessary.
13. But it only takes one opening for terrorists to succeed in a terrorist plot.
14. Fourth: Management and Education: mitigate eff ects of a successful terrorist
attack.