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Biosecurity Briefing
HHS to Provide $430 Million in Grants to Improve Medical Preparedness and Response to Mass Casualty Disasters By Chaitanya Indukuri, July 6, 2007 On June 28, 2007, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt, announced the award of $430 million in FY2007 grants to states, territories, and four major metropolitan areas to better prepare healthcare networks “to respond to bioterror attacks, infectious disease, and natural disasters that may cause mass casualties.”1 Over the past five years, HHS has provided more than $2 billion to increase hospital and healthcare facility preparedness through the National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program (NBHPP) and other initiatives. Beginning this year, oversight of the grant program has shifted from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), as indicated by the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. According to HHS, the FY2007 funds will support both the annual grant program and a new competitive Healthcare Facilities Partnership Program. State and local health departments will use the bulk of the federal funds (approximately $415 million) to build medical surge capacity by improving communications, hospital bed tracking systems, advance registration of volunteer health professionals (ESAR-VHP), and by planning for both fatality management and hospital evacuations. The $15 million Healthcare Facilities Partnership Program, newly created this year, will grant awards ranging from $500,000 to $2.5 million to 6-30 “eligible health care partnerships to enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies.” HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Craig Vanderwagen, stated that the new program “would require close coordination among health officials from state, local, and private sectors” and is intended to lead to the development of “innovative and creative projects that can be replicated across the country.”1 According to representatives from HHS, grant application guidance has been released to state, regional, and local applicants and will be posted on www.grants.gov.2 References
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