The Gary Department of Health and the fire department will partner for emergency preparedness after the city’s council approved a more than $50,000 grant at its Wedesday meeting.
The annual public health emergency grant is about $53,000 and is funded by the Indiana Department of Health. Funding will help support a fire department position, said Veronica Collins-Ellis, executive director of the health department.
Gary’s health department wanted to collaborate with a department that’s already working on emergency preparedness, Collins-Ellis said, adding that the grant will ideally be added to an existing position’s salary.
The best positions for the grant are an EMT or firefighter already working in an emergency preparedness program, which helps people prepare for manmade and natural disasters.
“It’s only $53,000, so we can’t really hire anybody with benefits,” Collins-Ellis added. “It just made more sense to collaborate with someone that’s already trained.”
The Gary Common Council unanimously approved the grant at Wednesday’s meeting. Council members Mary Brown, D-3rd; Lori Latham, D-1st; and Dwight Williams, D-6th, were absent.
Council President Tai Adkins, D-4, asked Collins-Ellis if the grant could be renewed annually to help fund the position. Collins-Ellis said it can be automatically renewed, adding that the department has received it for 16 years.
Although the grant is received annually, the health department hasn’t collaborated with other local divisions.
“Now as a city, we’re trying to collaborate,” Collins-Ellis said. “If we run into any type of emergency, it overlaps. Between fire, health and police, it all comes together.”
Larry Tillman, chief of the Gary Fire Department, was unavailable for comment on the collaboration.
Emergency preparedness is increasingly important after the COVID-19 pandemic, Collins-Ellis said. She believes most cities weren’t prepared to handle the pandemic’s effects.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re prepared for any type of disaster,” Collins-Ellis said. “We should’ve done it in the past … but now we’re moving forward to make sure we’re better prepared.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
