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As SARS, Bioterror Fears Grow, Prototype Isolation and Treatment Facility to Be Built in Pittsburgh Area Beginning Mid-August
Thursday July 24, 12:00 pm ET
150-Bed Prototype of 500-Bed Facility to Be Assembled From Polymer Composite Panels
The Daedalus Project, Inc.; AT&T Government Solutions; Radian Inc. Collaborate on Demonstration project


ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Three northern Virginia companies today announced plans to assemble a prototype facility outside of Pittsburgh next month that could be used for isolating patients in the event of a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction, containing a SARS outbreak, or providing shelter for victims of natural disasters.
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Assembly of the approximately 6,000 square-foot, 150-bed building, called an Emergency Isolation and Treatment System (EITS), will begin in mid-August and will be open to the public during the last week of August.

The Daedalus Project, Inc., of Alexandria, Va., (www.daedalusproject.com) developed the polymer composite panels to meet the requirement for low-cost housing in developing countries. Corporate partners in the project include AT&T Government Solutions, of Vienna, Va., which is providing leading edge voice and data communications, and Radian, Inc., also of Alexandria, Va., which is providing engineering and technical support. The group is currently seeking a hospital supply company to join the consortium.

The EITS project is part of federally-funded effort that is being conducted through the Allegheny County Bureau of Emergency Service, and RISC, Inc., a non-profit organization located in the county. The prototype will be assembled on the grounds of a Westinghouse facility in Monroeville, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh.

The companies involved said the EITS, a 150-bed prototype of a 500-bed facility, could be used to provide observation, quarantine, isolation, and treatment to victims of weapons of mass destruction, outbreaks of infectious diseases (such as SARS), temporary shelter in the event of a natural disaster, and a variety of other purposes for which the facility will be evaluated. The lightweight polymer panels used to construct the facility are easily assembled and have applicability to a broad range of structures, both temporary and permanent. They are impervious to all types of infestation and contamination and may be re-used or recycled. Additionally, EITS is field-site deployable.

"This government-funded effort is based, among other things, upon the simple economic notion that response to emergencies implies recovery, which entails costs," said Dr. Edward McCulloch, president of Daedalus. He pointed out that the cost to decontaminate the Hart Senate Office building after the anthrax contamination were estimated to be upwards of $30 million and that the Brentwood mail facility in Washington, D.C. has yet to reopen and the costs are not yet known.

"The prevailing approach of pressing schools, public buildings or sports complexes into service in the event of emergency is very costly," he said. "Similarly, the fragile economic profile of many hospitals makes them very vulnerable to the impact of contaminating emergency wards or the loss of revenue from having to close a section during long-term reconstruction. Those events could also have devastating effects upon hospital insurers. The costs of the fully-functional emergency isolation and treatment facility are anticipated to be less than 5 percent of a modern hospital."

"Communications and information sharing are essential components of any emergency facility," said Michael Polmar, AT&T Government Solutions sales vice president, National Information Systems. "That's where AT&T Government Solutions comes in. Our experience as a solutions integrator and networking leader is invaluable for projects requiring the full range of IT capabilities. We believe this temporary building approach is a very viable alternative for public officials trying to respond and prepare for a range of requirements that will be evaluated within this facility -- including temporary command and control centers."

Radian's President, Richard P. Dacey, said, "Radian is delighted to participate in this project and to coordinate all aspects of the non-medical life support systems. We intend to assist in developing the full national potential of this most valuable and essential project."

In preparation for next month's construction, a prototype section of the EITS has been assembled and is undergoing modification at the Radian facility in Newington, Va.

Other participants in the EITS project are Composite Technologies Company LLC of Dayton, Ohio; Alban Cat (Caterpillar) Rental Solutions of Elkridge, Md.; Optimus Corp. of Silver Spring, Md.; Marconi's Broadband Routing & Switching group, headquartered in Pittsburgh; Avaya Inc., of Basking Ridge, N.J.; StageRight, Inc. of Clare, Mich.; and Dialogic Communications of Franklin, Tenn.

AT&T Government Solutions, headquartered in Vienna, Va., is a long-standing, trusted source of information technology solutions for federal, state and local governments, integrating unmatched network resources and professional service expertise with innovative technologies from AT&T Labs and industry-leading partners. Best known for network leadership in voice, data, video and managed services, AT&T Government Solutions is a proven solutions integrator, with professional service expertise in areas such as enterprise architecture, business transformation, knowledge management, training, program management, systems engineering and security. www.att.com/gov.

Radian Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Engineered Support Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: EASI - News) is a defense contractor supplying advanced systems integration, physical security and access control, and logistic support, with its corporate offices located in Alexandria, Va. Radian is a recognized leader, providing full-service engineering and logistic support to the U.S. Defense Department for electrical power systems, environmental control systems, water supply/distribution systems and fully-integrated systems for detection and mitigation of weapons of mass destruction. Radian designs and manufactures mobile and air transportable 1Mw power generation and distribution solutions for the military. Radian www.radian.com maintains several GSA Schedules for government procurement and access to its technical services.

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