Feds reconsider moving medical stockpile

By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer
Emergency cache could stay in San Diego County | Thursday, February 28, 2008 10:22 PM PST ∞

Federal officials have agreed to rethink the idea of moving a 25,000-pound stockpile of emergency medical supplies out of San Diego County, local officials said Thursday.

Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed in a teleconference call Thursday afternoon with him and fellow Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, to consider leaving the stockpile in San Diego County. Davis' office confirmed the call, as well.

On Tuesday, San Diego County supervisors voted to seek congressional help, saying they feared moving the supplies from the county could slow disaster response in calamities like the October firestorms.

Federal Health and Human Services officials had proposed moving the supplies ---- now housed in a $40,000-a-year, 42,000 square-foot San Diego warehouse ---- to Los Angeles in a "regionalization" effort.

The proposed move troubled many emergency response officials.

Dr. Jake Jacoby of UC San Diego Medical Center, said Monday that moving the stockpile posed a health threat to the region.

Jacoby is the commander of the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team in San Diego, one of 40 or 50 teams across the country that are sent to disaster areas with enough medical equipment to last without resupply for three days ---- to either help swamped hospitals or create field hospitals.

The stockpile is the team's, and consists of supplies such as cots, tents, defibrillators, ventilators, suturing materials and other supplies.

Bilbray said he and Davis told Rear Adm. Craig Vanderwagen, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, that San Diego County needed and deserved to have the supplies.

"San Diego County is not some Podunk county, we've got 3 million people and we're larger than 26 states in the Union," Bilbray said.

Bilbray said Vanderwagen agreed to look to see if the stockpile could be moved to a warehouse owned by the U.S. military or San Diego County ---- a move that could eliminate the need to pay any annual lease.

Representatives from Davis' office confirmed the call and Vanderwagen's agreement to reconsider the move. Vanderwagen's representatives would not comment Thursday.

Jacoby and San Diego County emergency response officials said earlier this week that moving the stockpile to Los Angeles could leave the county without the supplies if an earthquake or other disaster closed or damaged local interstates.

Both of the county's north-south freeways, Interstates 5 and 15, were closed temporarily during the October firestorms. Air traffic was also hampered by smoke during the blazes.

Ron Lane, director of the county's emergency services, said having the stockpile in the county was important. The county had to evacuate three hospitals ---- including Poway's Pomerado Hospital ---- and 13 nursing homes during the October firestorms.

Greg Cox, chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said Thursday afternoon that he was encouraged.

Cox said that county emergency operations personnel were investigating whether the county has space to put the stockpile.

However, Cox said, officials may not have a lot of time to look for a place to keep the stockpile within the county.

The lease on the San Diego warehouse that now houses the cache ends March 31.

"It sounds encouraging," Cox said. "They're willing to allow us to see if we can find a suitable site."

Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com.

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