Healthcare Readiness
Disasters and public health emergencies can hit communities hard, often with little notice. When disaster strikes, communities rely on an immediate response from health care workers for lifesaving care. In particular, the health care delivery system must be prepared for medical surge – sudden, high demands on inpatient beds, health care workforce, and other resources due to an influx of patients. To save lives and protect patient health during a disaster or emergency, the health care delivery system must be resilient, flexible, able to provide specialty care, and capable of using innovative techniques and new products to care for large numbers of patients. A failure to prepare for these events puts the health care delivery system at risk of becoming overextended and unable to provide patients with the care they need.
ASPR’s Office of Health Care Readiness meets this challenge by strengthening the nation’s health care delivery system to provide coordinated, lifesaving care in the face of disasters and other emergencies. Office of Health Care Readiness programs and activities advance the ability of our nation’s health care delivery system to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies so patients have the right care, at the right place, at the right time.
ASPR’s Office of Health Care Readiness leads national health care readiness through cooperative agreements, training and educational activities, technical assistance, promising practices, response leadership and coordination, and strategic partner engagement. The Office of Health Care Readiness administers programs including:
The Hospital Preparedness Program, which is the primary source of federal funding to prepare health care to save lives during disasters and emergencies through investments in health care coalitions.
The Regional Disaster Health Response System, which builds upon and unifies existing assets across states and regions to support a simplified, comprehensive, and capable health care system to respond to disasters and emergencies.
The National Special Pathogen System, led by the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, helps the country prepare the health care system, protect the health care workforce, and respond to special pathogen events by coordinating special pathogen care across the United States. Level 1 facilities are highly specialized facilities capable of providing care to patients for the duration of their illness. These facilities, known as Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers, act as regional hubs for special pathogen readiness and provide resources for patient care and clinical operations among the region’s health care organizations.
Trauma Care Readiness and Coordination Program, which provides funding to support states, tribal organizations, and trauma centers as they develop, test, and refine models that strengthen emergency medical services and trauma care systems.refine models that strengthen emergency medical services and trauma care systems.
Workforce capacity and capability activities to improve health care readiness, such as the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals and the HHS/ASPR Project ECHO Clinical Readiness Rounds.
Together, Office of Health Care Readiness programs and activities engage health care entities from all U.S. states, territories, and freely associated states and from across the health care industry – enabling private health care to share ownership in addressing the risks and vulnerabilities across the health care delivery system and save lives during emergencies.
ASPR's Health Care Readiness Programs create connections among health care providers, specialty care providers, response organizations, regional partners, and public health professionals. Learn more about Office of Health Care Readiness programs and activities by selecting the boxes below. To explore Office of Health Care Readiness involvement in strengthening health readiness in your community, visit Health Care Readiness Near You and locate your state using the recipient map.
