WISCONSINREPORT.COM (04/08/2010) - Wisconsin has plenty of newsmakers this week, as usual. Wisconsin Nurses and Health Pros are applauding efforts by Governor Jim Doyle to rapidly implement the new federal Health Care Reform Law. The group likes the move to create a new office of National Health Care Reform this week. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Don Dunbar of Wisconsin is one of 35 people to be named to the Department of Homeland Security's newly formed Preparedness Task Force.

Yesterday, Governor Jim Doyle announced the creation of a new Office of National Health Care Reform to spearhead implementation of the recently passed national health care reform laws. The office will be co-chaired by Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake and Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg.

The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals applauds Governor Doyle for his foresight to set a goal of having Wisconsin lead the nation in implementing the historic health care reform.

“Wisconsin citizens will be better served because of Governor Doyle’s quick action to execute needed changes in health care,” said Candice Owley, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

The recently passed Health Care Reform Act will make historic changes for all health care consumers in the United States. Upon its implementation, 32 million more Americans will have access to much-needed health care services.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Don Dunbar, the adjutant general of Wisconsin, is among 35 people to be named to the Department of Homeland Security's newly formed Preparedness Task Force.

"Enhancing preparedness across our nation requires close collaboration between all levels of government," DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday (March 7) in announcing the new task force.

"The recommendations of this Task Force, comprised of emergency management and homeland security experts from states, cities and tribes across the country, will help guide our ongoing efforts to ensure the resilience of communities throughout the nation," Napolitano said.

The Preparedness Task Force will be tasked with making recommendations for all levels of government on topics such as disaster and emergency guidance and policy, federal grants and federal requirements. Those recommendations will emphasize identifying preparedness policies, guidelines and grant programs in need of updating, as well as determining the best way to proceed toward improving the nation's collective disaster preparation capabilities.

The conference report which accompanied the 2010 DHS Appropriations Act called for establishing a Preparedness Task Force. It will conduct regular meetings and expects to deliver recommendations this September.

Other task force members include: Charles H. Ada II, administrator, Guam Office of Civil Defense; Karen Baker, secretary of service and volunteering, Calif.; John Cary Bittick, sheriff, Monroe County, Ga.; Dave Bunce, fire chief, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Fire Department, Ariz.; Jeffery C. Cash, fire chief and emergency manager, Cherryville Fire Department, N.C.; Salvatore Cassano, commissioner, New York City Fire Department; and Nicholas Crossley, director, Johnson County, Kan. Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Also named: Edward F. Davis, commissioner, Boston Police Department; Robert DesRosier, director, Blackfeet Nation Homeland Security Program and Emergency Services Program, Mon.; Patricia Dukes, chief of emergency medical services, Honolulu; Angela English, executive director, Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities; Charley English, director and homeland security advisor, Georgia Emergency Management Agency; and Anthony H. Griffin, county executive, Fairfax County, Va.

Additional members: Dwight E. Henninger, chief of police, Vail, Colo.; James D. Himes, assistant director, Metro Nashville and Davidson County Department of Public Works, Tenn.; Hubert Douglas Hoell, Jr., director, North Carolina Division of Emergency Management; Jeffrey D. Johnson, fire chief/administrator, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Ore.; Hans Kallam, director, Colorado Division of Emergency Management; Ron Lane, director, San Diego County Office of Emergency Services; Joseph Laporte, public safety director, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Mich.; John. W. Ledbetter, executive director, Mississippi Office of Homeland Security; and Pamela L‘Heureux, director of emergency management, Waterboro, Maine.

Other members of the 35 person Preparedness Task Force: John Madden, director, Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; Raymond Orozco, chief of staff, Chicago; Jim Page, executive director, Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System; Kerry Pettingill, director, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security; Mary Selecky, secretary, Washington State Dept. of Health; David Taylor, state chief information officer and executive director, Agency for Enterprise Information Technology, Fla.; and Lyda Ann Thomas, mayor, Galveston, Tex.

Rounding out the 35 people on the task force: MaryAnn E. Tierney, deputy managing director for emergency management, Philadelphia; Alan Dennis (A.D.) Vickery, assistant chief of risk management, Seattle Fire Department; John Wageman, state Hazard Mitigation Officer, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division; John Wheeler, cabinet secretary, New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; and Thomas Wyss, Indiana state Senator.