By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports it has awarded more than $916 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.

“Recent events underscore the critical role these preparedness programs play in ensuring our health care and public health systems are poised to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from events like Hurricane Sandy, large explosions such the chemical plant in Texas, or terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombings in April,” Nicole Lurie, M.D., HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, said in a press release.

Ali Khan, M.D., director of HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office for Public Health Preparedness and Response, agreed. “Already in 2013, local and state health agencies have responded to eight food borne outbreaks, two new global diseases, and 37 disaster and emergency declarations, a clear indication of the breadth of threats that public health departments must be capable of responding to,” he said.

The fiscal year 2013 funding to support healthcare and public health preparedness programs included approximately $332 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $584 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement, reports HHS. 

According to HSS, requirements of the HPP and PHEP cooperative agreements are complementary and aligned to minimize administrative tasks for state health departments. The programs encourage healthcare entities and state and local public health departments to work collaboratively with other federal health and preparedness programs in their jurisdictions to maximize resources and prevent duplicative efforts. Such coordination of activities with emergency management and homeland security programs supports “whole community” planning to improve national preparedness efforts.

To learn more about HPP and PHEP including grant awards to individual states, territories or localities, visit www.phe.gov/hpp and www.cdc.gov/phpr/coopagreement.htm.