Wright State University is putting a new place on the map: Calamityville.
The threat of danger � made by man or Mother Nature � always looms in Calamityville. Weather forecasts are dire. Security reports are worse. It sounds like a place from which people would escape.
Instead, it's a place the Dayton-area school says will attractive medical, public health, public safety and civilian and military disaster response decision-makers from around the world for state-of-the-art training.
Calamityville is part of The National Center for Medical Readiness at WSU, an Ohio Center of Excellence. It's being funded from state and federal sources, as well as a wide range of businesses. WSU and the cities of Dayton and are providing support, too.
Among the features on the site plan: an urban destruction zone, transportation mishaps, and water environments. Site preparation has begun, and a virtual version exists here.
Dr. Mark E. Gebhart, associate professor at Wright State's Boonshoft School of Medicine and director of the NCMR, estimates that over a five-year period Calamityville will directly and indirectly generate $374 million for the Miami Valley region. It will directly and indirectly create approximately 35 new jobs and when calculating the construction components will impact another 344 jobs. Plus, he says in an economic impact assessment, there will be spin-off revenue to the region from increased tourism and overnight stays, increased sales and income tax revenues, and related growth.
On a related note, this month, the NCMR became one of six emergency preparedness training facilities in the U.S. to test the American Medical Association's Core Disaster Life Support Course, an introduction to "all hazards" preparedness for first responders, local officials and the public.
Source: Cindy Young, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University
Writer: Gabriella Jacobs