HHS has announced that it has made $1.3 billion available to states and specific areas to help strengthen capacity to respond to terrorism and other public health emergencies.
The funds are meant to help build on the progress that has been made in the past three years with state and local partners, with the intent to develop a stronger system for emergencies whether it be a bioterror attack or an infectious disease outbreak like SARS or West Nile virus. The funds will be used to upgrade infectious disease surveillance and investigation, enhance the readiness of hospitals and the health care system to deal with large numbers of casualties, expand public health laboratory and communications capacities and improve connectivity between hospitals, and city, local and state health departments to enhance disease reporting. These emergency preparedness and response efforts are intended to support the National Response Plan.
HHS will provide resources for the early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance program with the CDC funding specifically for states bordering Canada and Mexico for the development and implementation of a program to provide effective detection, investigation and reporting of urgent infectious disease case reports – Ohio will be one of the states to receive resources from HHS.
In addition, targeted funding has been allocated to continue the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) in 21 pilot cities. The goal is to ensure the cities are prepared to provide oral medications during a public health emergency to 100 percent of their affected populations. This entails enhancing each city’s dispensing plans with trained staff and developing plans to augment the federal resources and alternative means of delivery. Cleveland, Ohio is one of the cities that will receive CRI program funds.