The federal government has decided not to follow through on
a recent plan to move a stockpile of medical supplies from San
Diego to Los Angeles
County after the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors submitted an official letter of protest.

County officials voiced concern that, in the event of a
disaster like the wildfires that raged through the San
Diego area in October,
emergency response time could be significantly delayed if the supplies
were moved. They also said that an
earthquake scenario could damage the only two north-south routes into San
Diego, Interstates 5 and 15, preventing the transport
of the supplies.

The supplies were used in the devastating 2003 and 2007
wildfires. Both interstates were closed during the fires in 2007.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services cited economic efficiency as their reason to relocate the supplies,
saying that renting a warehouse in San Diego
costs $40,000 a year.

Jake Jacoby, UCSD Medical Center employee and commander of
the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team in San Diego, told the North
County Times that moving the stockpile could make it more difficult for the
team to respond quickly — and that it could be the first move toward
eliminating the team itself.

A primary objective of the DMAT is to provide support for
swamped or evacuated hospitals.

The UCSD Medical
Center is the primary sponsor of
the local DMAT, charged with recruiting and training members as well as
handling basic administrative needs.

Supervisors sought congressional help in preventing the
proposed relocation of supplies. Reps. Brian Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) and Susan
Davis (D-San Diego) discussed the issue with agency officials before the
decision was reversed.

Assistant Secretary of DHHS Craig Vanderwagen said that
agency will look into possibly storing the stockpile in a warehouse owned by
the U.S.
military or San Diego County.

“I’m very pleased that the Department of Health and Human
Services has recognized the importance of keeping these critical supplies in
the San Diego area,” Bilbray said
in a statement. “By working together, I am optimistic that a suitable location
will be found.”

Created in 1991, the 12-ton cache includes cots, tents,
defibrillators, ventilators, generators and other equipment that is enough to
treat 150 to 250 patients a day for up to three days.

San Diego’s team
is categorized as level one, which means that it is able to be activated and
prepared for deployment within six to eight hours of request.

It was previously deployed to New York
after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, New Orleans in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Guam in the aftermath
of a super typhoon.