Kaiser Permanente Contributes $2 Million to Support Public Health Response to Katrina; Centers for Disease Control Foundation Seeks Donations to Help CDC, Public Health Partners Purchase Critical Supplies, Equipment.

(From AScribe)

ATLANTA -- The CDC Foundation today announced a $2 million gift from Kaiser Permanente to support the national public health response to Hurricane Katrina. The contribution was made to the CDC Foundation's Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, which is accepting contributions to enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its state and local partners to obtain equipment, supplies and services that are not readily available or are difficult for government organizations to purchase quickly.

As the threat of disease outbreaks, tainted water supplies, chemical exposures and other health risks loom in the aftermath of Katrina, the public health community is mounting a full-scale emergency response. CDC director, Dr. Julie Gerberding, has activated CDC's state-of-the-art Marcus …