Kansas University has received a $1.2 million grant to help prepare state emergency workers respond to a bioterrorist attack.

The grant, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will help KU Medical Center researchers organize six meetings in Kansas to teach about bioterror threats.

“We will be able to target programs to physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and other groups of health care providers,” said David Cook, director of health and technology outreach at the Med Center. “The information will be tailored to each group’s needs and issues.”

The program, led by the Med Center, also includes experts from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas State University.

Initial meetings have been scheduled Dec. 3 in Kansas City, Kan.; Dec. 5 in Pittsburg; Dec. 8 in Topeka; Dec. 10 in Wichita; Dec. 12 in Garden City and Dec. 15 in Hays.

A second round of meetings in the spring will use the Med Center’s telemedicine system to provide more specific training to individual groups of health care providers.

“Using our telemedicine technology, we can provide this level of specialized training at a fraction of the costs of what it would require to train each group in person,” Cook said.

The $1.2 million grant will fund the first year of the bioterror program. KU also has requested an additional $1.1 million for a second year, which would include a disaster simulation to show the practical application of the training. The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing that grant application.