Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Better Prepared Maryland

Last week, I made a second call on our Maryland FiRST statewide radio communications system to mark the successful implementation of the system’s expansion to the Eastern Shore. The State’s first-ever statewide radio communications system puts first responders on the entire Eastern Shore and parts of Central Maryland on the same radio channel so they can communicate more effectively and better coordinate resources in the event of an emergency. These emergency personnel are responsible for 55 percent of our population and key critical infrastructure sites, including the northern I-95 corridor, Port of Baltimore, and BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport. By 2017, the Maryland FiRST system will serve all of our state’s citizens, from Ocean City to Oakland.

Keeping Marylanders safe and secure is the most sacred responsibility of our government, and the Maryland FiRST system is helping to ensure that we carry out that responsibility efficiently and effectively.

We’ve also invested in ESSENCE (Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics), a web-based system designed for early detection of disease outbreaks. Every hospital in the state uses this system to protect Marylanders from infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

And we’ve increased traffic management video feeds available to our first responders from 266 feeds in 2009 to 1,657 video feeds now available, an expansion of over 520 percent.

These innovative investments are essential in helping us meet Maryland’s homeland security goals as part of the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s 16 strategic goals.

When Marylanders unite to achieve our goals, we are unstoppable. Together, we can continue to build on our homeland security successes as we work to create a more secure One Maryland.

Click here to view a video of Governor O’Malley’s second call on the Maryland FiRST system.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

IF this system is so great, why have they not yet detected the epidemic of respirator disease now in the Salisbury area???

Anonymous said...

"We’ve also invested in ESSENCE (Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics), a web-based system designed for early detection of disease outbreaks. Every hospital in the state uses this system to protect Marylanders from infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies."

So...I go to the hospital, and the state has my medical records?

"And we’ve increased traffic management video feeds available to our first responders from 266 feeds in 2009 to 1,657 video feeds now available, an expansion of over 520 percent."

So...now my license plate is tracked and put into a database at 520% more locations?


Anonymous said...

Wait till they hook it up to the smart meters.

Anonymous said...

How much did this bull cost we tax payers? Wouldn't a phone call be cheaper, but somebody made a bunch of cash thanks to those gov't contracts.

Anonymous said...

Gov money grab to those who still have a little ... thats those of us who work ...not the great "entitlement" people.