On September 19, 2005, the Department of Health & Human Services announced the programs recommended for funding for the "Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program" (BTCDP) grant awards. The grant response was a joint effort of the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, and is a 3 year award for over $3M. The UK/UL team was awarded this grant in September 2003 during the first 2-year grant cycle. Based on the success of the first grant cycle and the aggressive proposal for the next three years, the partnership will deliver disaster preparedness and response training to:

• Physicians
• Nurses
• Mental health professionals
• Pharmacists
• Public Health workers
• Agricultural and Veterinary Science professionals
• Dental health professionals
• And many other healthcare workers

The use of the Kentucky TeleHealth Network was recognized by the granting agent as an important "Strength" of the project, as the Kentucky PROACT (Preparedness and Response On Advanced Communication Technologies) network uses interactive videoconference technology to deliver thousands of contact hours of Disaster Preparedness and Response programming to healthcare professionals in rural Kentucky that normally would not have access to such vital programming.

One recent example of the Kentucky TeleHealth network’s ability to distribute educational programming quickly was the "Katrina Update" that reached 42 sites and nearly 400 people with up-to-the-minute information on the healthcare needs of refugees that traveled from the Gulf Coast to Kentucky, as well as the efforts by Kentucky’s healthcare professionals to provide supportive services in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The program was conceived on a Friday, by William Hacker, MD, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Public Health, and the program took place on the following Wednesday afternoon