The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $613 million to strengthen all-hazards emergency preparedness in the 50 states, four large metropolitan areas, and eight U.S. territories and Pacific island areas.

HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administers the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement, which supports state, local, and territorial health departments in demonstrating measurable and sustainable progress toward achieving 15 public health preparedness capabilities and other activities that promote safer and more resilient communities.  

“State and local public health departments have made tremendous advances in public health preparedness and response since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The terrorist attacks highlighted the importance of health security and the need to expand the federal government’s investments in state and local public health preparedness,” said Ali S. Khan, M.D., the director of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, which oversees the PHEP cooperative agreement. “These funds work to secure the nation from all public health threats.”

CDC’s recent state preparedness report indicates that much progress has been made to build and strengthen national public health preparedness and response capabilities in laboratory testing capacities and state capacities to receive, distribute, and dispense medical assets from CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile and other sources. More information is available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/publications/2010phprep/.

CDC’s new PHEP cooperative agreement focuses on advancing public health preparedness for public health laboratory testing, public health surveillance and epidemiological investigation, community preparedness, medical countermeasure dispensing, responder safety and health, emergency operations coordination, emergency public information and warning, and other capabilities.

The PHEP cooperative agreement also addresses lessons learned during the recent large-scale incidents like the H1N1 influenza pandemic response, by encouraging health departments to develop and implement strategies for effective state and local emergency response.  In addition, the cooperative agreement provides funding to 10 urban areas as a one-year pilot program for higher population areas to develop public health, medical, mental/behavioral risk assessments and risk mitigation strategies.

Other funding for state and local medical preparedness activities was released in July by HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). ASPR awarded more than $352 in Hospital Preparedness Program grants to support preparedness capabilities, including medical surge, for hospitals and health care facilities. More information is available at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/07/20110701a.html.

CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)
Cooperative Agreement
Fiscal Year 2011 Funding

Awardee FY 2011 Total Funding Available Alabama $8,633,983 Alaska $5,177,600 American Samoa $374,003 Arizona $11,894,861 Arkansas $6,469,981 California $41,661,534 Chicago $10,409,823 Colorado $9,397,930 Connecticut $7,553,479 Delaware $5,422,932 District of Columbia $6,730,903 Florida $27,687,829 Georgia $15,653,814 Guam $501,200 Hawaii $5,260,290 Idaho $5,181,907 Illinois $16,845,953 Indiana $11,146,909 Iowa $6,595,869 Kansas $6,595,020 Kentucky $8,275,695 Los Angeles County $20,404,916 Louisiana $8,632,297 Maine $5,206,160 Marshall Islands $372,756 Maryland $11,057,196 Massachusetts $13,459,602 Michigan $16,543,509 Micronesia $421,144 Minnesota $10,842,711 Mississippi $6,565,242 Missouri $10,717,722 Montana $5,178,911 Nebraska $5,234,954 Nevada $6,585,802 New Hampshire $5,398,877 New Jersey $16,184,853 New Mexico $6,526,120 New York $19,284,669 New York  City $19,243,835 North Carolina $14,020,450 North Dakota $5,180,405 Northern Mariana Islands $358,054 Ohio $17,618,925 Oklahoma $7,509,542 Oregon $7,829,790 Palau $323,450 Pennsylvania $19,774,638 Puerto Rico $7,473,561 Rhode Island $5,302,058 South Carolina $9,308,851 South Dakota $5,169,600 Tennessee $10,845,628 Texas $37,545,665 Utah $6,464,082 Vermont $5,192,031 Virgin Islands (U.S.) $423,822 Virginia $14,483,987 Washington $11,711,066 West Virginia $5,336,731 Wisconsin $11,235,615 Wyoming $5,169,600 TOTAL FY 2011 PHEP FUNDING $613,610,342

 

###
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES