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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

This issue of The Express highlights the following new and updated resources:

• Utility Failures in Health Care Toolkit
• Health Care Provider Shortages-Resources and Strategies for Meeting Demand
• MOCC Adaptations during a Pediatric Surge (Speaker Series Recording)
• Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire: Register Today!
• HIDA-ASPR Educational Webinar Series: Register Today!
• Countries Experiencing Conflict: Health Care Preparedness and Response Resources
• National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference

Please reach out to ASPR TRACIE if you need technical assistance.

Utility Failures in Health Care Toolkit

Utility failures are a major concern for health care and may cause substantial harm to patients, staff, and facilities. Threats include infrastructure damage due to natural disasters and other incidents, planned outages to relieve stress on services or prevent other hazards, and malicious acts such as physical and cyber sabotage. It is also important to note the cascading effects a failure of one utility may have on others; more than one utility may fail simultaneously or sequentially. This suite of tip sheets can help health care facility managers and emergency planners identify issues to consider when planning for and responding to various types of utility failures. Access our related Utility Failures Topic Collection for additional resources. 

Health Care Provider Shortages-Resources and Strategies for Meeting Demand

Health care workforce planners can use the updated Health Care Provider Shortages document to help prevent staff shortages and meet the demand for additional staff during and after a disaster or public health emergency. Strategies for quantifying workforce needs and supporting, maximizing, and supplementing staff include lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

MOCC Adaptations during a Pediatric Surge (Speaker Series Recording)

Drs. Steve Mitchell (Medical Director, Washington Medical Coordination Center), Mary King (Medical Director, Pediatric Critical Care, Harborview Medical Center), and Vicki Sakata (Senior Medical Advisor, Northwest Healthcare Response Network) described how the medical operations coordination center (MOCC), health care coalitions, and hospitals in Washington collaborated to load balance a surge in pediatric patients related to the "tripledemic" in 2022-2023 in this pediatric surge speaker series recording. Check out the other Health Care System Preparedness Considerations recordings and our Pediatric/Children Topic Collection for related resources. 

Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire: Register Today!

On February 7, 2023, a 10-alarm fire at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital (Massachusetts) resulted in the total evacuation of the hospital, continued closure, and extensive recovery efforts. In the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital fire webinar (scheduled for December 14, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 PM ET), hospital representatives will discuss their successes and challenges with patient movement, transfers, and discharge; maintaining patient and staff safety; managing cascading events; collaboration with local/state/regional partners; and how lessons learned impact facility plans, protocols, and training. Register today!

HIDA-ASPR Educational Webinar Series: Register Today!

The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) is collaborating with ASPR on the HIDA-ASPR Educational Webinar Series designed to educate stakeholders on the role of ASPR programs and share insights on successful public/private partnerships. The webinar featuring ASPR TRACIE is scheduled for December 1, 2023, at 2:00 PM ET. Learn more about the series and register today!

Countries Experiencing Conflict: Health Care Preparedness and Response Resources

ASPR TRACIE recently updated the Countries Experiencing Conflict Resource Page to help stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad prepare for and respond to the far-reaching effects of countries experiencing conflict.

National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference (NHCPC)

This year’s NHCPC is being held from November 28-30, 2023 and will focus on “A Changing World: Opportunities for Transformation.” Stop by our "Maintaining Patient Care & Safety During Outages" session at 11:00 AM on the 29th to learn how representatives from Jackson, Mississippi and Houston, Texas managed significant utility outages. 

Updates from the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection

ASPR’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) offers a variety of newsletters to keep stakeholders informed during emergency response and steady state. The newsletters inform stakeholders of the most significant issues facing the health care and public health sector, including cybersecurity, health care supply chains, and more. If you are interested in receiving CIP newsletters, visit the CIP newsletter subscription webpage.