The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $971 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, HHS officials announced Monday.
“Healthcare and public health systems that are prepared to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from all hazards are also able to deliver services more effectively and efficiently every day,” said Nicole Lurie, MD, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, in a press release. “Having systems in place to provide better treatment for disaster survivors and improved public health for our communities also leads to better health outcomes on a day-to-day basis.”
[See also: Preparing for disaster]
The funding awards included a total of approximately $352 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $619 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.
Administered by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), HPP funding supports preparedness for healthcare systems, healthcare coalitions and healthcare organizations. HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administers PHEP funding to support the preparedness of state, local and territorial public health systems.
For the first time, the HPP and PHEP funds are being awarded jointly, encouraging cooperation between the nation’s healthcare and public health systems.
Improved coordination among federal emergency preparedness programs is a high priority of HHS and other federal entities, as well as for HPP and PHEP awardees, according to HHS.
“State and local agencies have made tremendous progress over the past decade in building and sustaining public health and healthcare preparedness capabilities,” Lurie said. "The integration fostered by HPP and PHEP alignment is important in streamlining and strengthening the day-to-day relationships and cross-sector cooperation that are critical to achieving a resilient health system ready to face any health hazard and capable of providing the affordable, high-quality daily care that all Americans deserve.”