WASHINGTON-The Communications for Coordinated Assistance and Response to Emergencies (ComCARE) Alliance Wednesday issued a request for proposals for the alpha version its emergency provider access directory.
“You can’t send emergency data without an agency directory. Surprisingly, a comprehensive one does not exist today,” said Sue Hoyt, ComCARE chairwoman and former president of the Emergency Nurses Association.
ComCARE will hold a bidders conference Thursday, and responses are due by 2 p.m. Aug. 13. The project is expected to commence in September and last five months. Following the development of the alpha version, ComCARE hopes to complete beta testing and release EPAD, but it is still seeking funding for this phase of the project.
“The total budget for the alpha version and the finished EPAD is estimated to be approximately $16 to $20 million. ComCARE has sufficient funding to complete the alpha version and is beginning to seek funding for the completed EPAD. The RFP requires the offeror to propose a project solution through the end of the alpha version with recommendations and cost estimates based on the alpha version. The offeror should approach this project assuming that it will participate in the final EPAD,” reads the RFP.
When fully operational, EPAD will contain data for more than 100,000 public and private emergency response agencies.
ComCARE received a $1.7 million grant from the Department of Justice to develop EPAD.
“This directory allows vital information about a mass emergency or a daily emergency event to be routed quickly and securely to appropriate authorities and organizations,” said ComCARE.
ComCARE envisions a scenario where an incident occurs-anything from a traffic accident, to a weather event to a major terrorist attack-and those EPAD subscribers in a specific geographic area would receive information about the incident that can then be downloaded into their own systems for their own use.
While the media is expected to subscribe and be a member of EPAD, the type of information it receives may be slightly different than what others receive, said David Alyward, president of National Strategies and ComCARE founder.
