Last week, HHS awarded a total of $390.5 million in hospital preparedness and emergency response grants to help hospitals improve their medical surge capability in the event of a public health emergency, such as an act of terrorism, disease outbreak or natural disaster, Modern Healthcarereports (Rhea, Modern Healthcare, 7/12).
Specifically, the grants will be used to develop:
Interoperable communication systems;
Systems to track available hospital beds; and
Pre-registration systems for volunteer health professionals.
The grants also will help facilities develop processes for hospital evacuation and sheltering, fatality management and forming community health care partnerships (Commins, HealthLeaders Media, 7/8).
Regional Awards
The grants were awarded to all states and territories (Goedert, Health Data Management, 7/8). HHS allotted additional funding to Chicago, Los Angeles County, New York City and Washington, D.C., to ensure the cities have adequate resources if a catastrophe should occur.
California received the largest grant, at almost $32 million, while Los Angeles County received an additional $12.3 million (Modern Healthcare, 7/12).
