Contact Information: For further information please contact: Megan McHugh 215.238.0510 x237
Probaris ID Issues FRACs for Demonstration With Medical Community and Government Agencies
| Quelle: Probaris, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - March 3, 2008) - Probaris, Inc. and its partners are
participating in the Winter Blast disaster preparedness demonstration in
the Philadelphia and Washington, DC areas this week. Probaris is providing
First Responder Authentication Credentials (FRACs) for the demonstration.
The Probaris FRAC credentials comply with the federal FIPS 201 standard to
ensure trust and interoperability.
The Winter Blast demonstration is hosted by the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of
National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC). Participants include Temple
University Hospital in Philadelphia Crozer-Chester Medical Center in
Chester, Pennsylvania, the George Washington University Hospital and the
Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital, both in Washington, DC.
Winter Blast is intended to prove the capability to rapidly and
electronically authenticate first responders at disaster scenes. The
authentication process allows emergency response officials to validate the
identity and qualifications of first response personnel. The validation of
personnel qualifications includes an electronic check of an individual's
certifications, authorizations, and privileges.
The focus of Winter Blast is on the community of first responders that
serve in Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8) within FEMA's National
Response Framework (NRF). ESF 8 responders are from the Public Health and
Medical Services community. The Emergency System for Advanced Registration
of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) will be used to validate the
certifications of public health and medical workers during the
demonstration.
Trusted and interoperable identity credentials for the Winter Blast
demonstration are being issued using Probaris ID™. The credentials are
compliant with federal standard Federal Information Processing Standard
(FIPS) 201 to remove the burdens associated with first responder
identification and the lifecycle management of credentials. Alternative
proprietary and ad hoc credentialing processes have created delays,
subjectivity, and uncertainty, including those experienced by emergency
personnel responding to the September 11th terrorist attacks and the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Winter Blast serves as a significant
milestone and demonstration of the standards-based solutions available to
provide first responders with a streamlined approach to accessing disaster
sites.
About Probaris
Probaris (www.probaris.com) develops and markets Probaris ID™, an
end-to-end solution for verification of employee identities. The solution
is used to gather employee biometrics and other identity data for the
issuance and life cycle management of secure credentials. Probaris ID is
currently being used by federal agencies to comply with the HSPD-12 mandate
of 2004. The Probaris ID Suite bundles multiple pre-integrated GSA-approved
products to provide all elements of the credential solution.