[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2009

  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I submit the 
following:
  Requesting Member: Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25)
  Bill Number: H.R. 2892
  Account: Predisaster Mitigation
  Name of Requesting Entity: Jackson Health System
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1611 NW 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136
  Description of Request: I have secured $500,000 for the Jackson 
Health System Hurricane Mitigation Structural Reinforcement Initiative. 
This funding will be used for Jackson Health System (JHS), operated by 
Miami-Dade County's Public Health Trust and is the county's sole public 
health system; the primary provider for the county's indigent and 
uninsured and its sole trauma center. At its center is Jackson Memorial 
Hospital (JMH), one of the nation's busiest (based on # of admissions) 
and largest (1,567 beds) with average annual occupancy levels 
consistently over 90%. When a hurricane warning is issued, JHS serves 
as an emergency evacuation shelter for medically at risk individuals 
(with limited family members).
  The number of psychiatric emergency issues countywide increases and 
presents at JHS. Employees are required to remain in place until they 
are relieved, which is often after storm conditions pass. These factors 
contribute to hurricane related occupancy levels that are considerably 
higher than normal levels of operation. Miami-Dade County's geographic 
location places the area at risk for many natural and societal hazards. 
Situated in the south eastern most part of Florida the area is marked 
by flat topography, low land elevations and high groundwater tables in 
the Biscayne aquifer. Over the last one hundred years, 33 hurricanes 
and tropical storms have approached within 75 miles of Miami-Dade 
County. Of these, 9 have been a category 3 or higher intensity storm. 
Given that the physical demographics of the almost 2.3 million 
residents of Miami-Dade County inhabit the eastern most 20 miles of 
coastline, it is the most populated areas that suffer the maximum 
impact of storms. In 2004, Florida had a record breaking hurricane 
season with four major disaster declarations, Hurricane Charley, 
Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan, and Hurricane Jeanne. In 2005, 
Florida again suffered from an extreme season with four major disaster 
declarations: Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and 
Hurricane Wilma. Florida consistently has the greatest risk for a 
direct hit by a hurricane of any other location in the United States. 
Additionally, it is subject to several other threats such as extreme 
tropical thunderstorms, sudden tornados and high trade winds and has 
the highest occurrences of severe lightning activity. Given the 
anticipated demands placed on the Ryder Trauma Center in the event of a 
direct hit of a high category storm, it is imperative that the building 
be structurally safe, adequately secured, and operationally functional. 
This funding will be used to structurally reinforce and fortify the 
trauma center through an exterior skin upgrade. The current 
construction is unsuitable for a threat of a higher category storm. 
This is a tremendous vulnerability for the County's only trauma center. 
As the most critical facility in all of Miami-Dade County, it is 
imperative that JHS fortify the building to ensure uninterrupted 
operations.This project is wholly consistent with Federal and agency 
missions to provide pre-disaster mitigation assistance to critical 
public entities who serve as vital providers of emergency services. The 
frequency and foreseeable nature of natural disasters striking densely 
populated Miami-Dade County make the project a natural priority for 
federal participation in protecting a safety-net institution such as 
the Ryder Trauma Center.

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