Hospital Preparedness Program Cooperative Agreement - HOSPITAL PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM (HPP) Cooperative Agreement EP-U3R-24-001 HAWAII PROJECT ABSTRACT We often hear, “it’s not a matter of if, but when” the next disaster strikes; it has become a truism. And in recent years, increased severity and frequency of major incidents have also become givens. Against this backdrop, the work to strengthen health care delivery system preparedness and response in our jurisdiction is ever more important. The Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) Office of Public Health Preparedness (OPHP) is thankful for the opportunity to apply for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Office of Health Care Readiness Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) Cooperative Agreement funding to support Hawaii’s health care readiness. OPHP closely collaborates with the statewide health care coalition (HCC), state and county emergency management, and other partners to plan for, train, equip, and respond to emergencies and disasters. During the Cooperative Agreement’s 5-year period of performance, we will continue to build and improve upon HPP capabilities established in previous years. At the same time, we approach the beginning of the new project period as an excellent time to revisit priorities, validate, and recalibrate as needed. Toward that end, we will be working with internal and external stakeholders to maintain, change, and/or refresh programmatic efforts and strategies to more effectively achieve key outcomes. In Budget Period 1 (BP1) and subsequent BP, we will plan and implement activities to assess community needs, identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities, and work with the HCC to support access to and continuity of care. This will include assessing and supporting plans for cybersecurity and extended downtime impacts. Efforts to ensure robust HCC response coordination capabilities will continue in alignment with the coalition’s proposed new 5-year funding strategy, as will activities to strengthen medical surge capacity and partnership with the statewide Medical Reserve Corps. Additionally, we are looking forward to integrating the many lessons learned from COVID-19 and the recent Maui Wildfires incidents into state and HCC improvement plans for response and recovery. We must also address ongoing challenges including filling vacancies and retaining qualified staff. We will be working with workforce development partners and others to support employee recruitment and retention. Improving administrative preparedness is another challenge. The ability to fully achieve required administrative measures is not entirely within our program’s control, but our proposed activities include partnerships and collaboration to measurably move toward desired outcomes and successfully complete annual requirements. The HPP Cooperative Agreement award is vital to OPHP’s partnership with the HCC and our ability to maintain health care preparedness and response capabilities throughout the state. We are hopeful that the strategies and activities we will be implementing in the upcoming period of performance will move us toward a safer, healthier, and more resilient community.
