[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 60875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24096]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Notification
of a Sole Source Cooperative Agreement Award
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Office of Emergency
Management (OEM).
ACTION: Notification of a sole source Cooperative Agreement Award.
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Statutory Authority: Public Health Service Act, Section 301.
Estimated Amount of Award: $200,000 to $ 750,000 (contingent on the
availability of funding).
Project Period: September 30, 2013 to March 31, 2015.
Summary and Project Overview
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) within the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is responsible
for developing operational plans to ensure the preparedness of the
Office, the Department, the Federal Government and the public to
respond to and recover from domestic and international public health
and medical threats and emergencies. OEM is also responsible for
ensuring that ASPR has the systems, logistical support, and procedures
necessary to coordinate the Department's operational response to acts
of terrorism and other public health and medical threats and
emergencies. OEM is responsible for leading Emergency Support Function
8 (ESF 8), Public Health and Medical Services, under
the National Response Framework and the Health and Social Services
(H&SS) Recovery Support Function (RSF) under the National Disaster
Recovery Framework (NDRF), released in September 2011.
In the field of disaster and emergency management, post-disaster
recovery has played an important, although often lower profile role.
When it is addressed, it frequently references the restoration of
previously extant physical or economic systems within a community, with
a focus on ``bricks and mortar'' infrastructure reconstitution (e.g.
roads, bridges, housing stock, commercial structures, etc) and/or
business and commercial recovery.\i\ Oftentimes absent from
consideration is the critical importance of health, and the public
health, medical and social services and underlying determinants of
health that are key to supporting overall recovery.\ii\
Anecdotal evidence from recent disasters and other scientific
evidence iii iv v suggest that there is not a broad
understanding of the recovery activities that most significantly impact
the health of individuals of populations. This grant will support the
development and distribution of a set of evidence-based recommendations
that inform recovery efforts in affected communities and the work of
both emergency managers and health professionals. The recommendations
will be informed by input from stakeholders and subject matters
experts.
Pursuant to the National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) objective
8.3 and, specifically, sub-objective 8.3.1, this grant will generally
seek ``to continuously improve recovery efforts, [through] data
elements assess[ing] recovery progress, quality, and outcomes.'' \vi\
This grant also supports HHS Strategic Plan Objective 3F: Protect
Americans' health and safety during emergencies, and foster resilience
in response to emergencies.
Justification
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is a nonprofit organization and is
part of the National Academy of Sciences. IOM undertakes studies that
may be specific mandates from Congress or requested by federal agencies
and independent organizations.
The IOM has an established Forum on Medical and Public Health
Preparedness for Catastrophic Events. The Forum held a panel on Long-
term Recovery of the Healthcare Service Delivery Infrastructure in
February 2012 during the 2012 Public Health Preparedness Summit in
Anaheim, CA. The Forum's purpose is to foster dialogue among
stakeholders, identify opportunities for public/private collaboration,
and identify and address issues relevant to public health and medical
preparedness.
The IOM is part of the National Academies, which also has an
established Disasters Roundtable. The Disasters Roundtable holds
workshops three times per year on topics often relevant to recovery
partners. The IOM is uniquely positioned to be able to not only
identify relevant partners and stakeholders but also garner their
participation in the proposed activities because of their existing
structures and established reputation.
Additional Information: The agency program contact is Esmeralda
Pereira, [email protected], 202-205-0065.
Dated: September 27, 2013.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
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\i\ Abramson, D., Stehling-Ariza, T., Soo Park, Y., Walsh, L.,
Culp, D. 2010. Measuring Individual Disaster Recovery: A
Socioecological Framework. Disaster Medicine and Public Health
Preparedness 4(S1): S46-S54.
\ii\ Burkle, F. M. 2011. The Limits to Our Capacity: Reflections
on Resiliency, Community Engagement, and Recovery in 21st Century
Crises. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 5(S2):
S176-S181.
\iii\ Masten, A.S., and Obradovic, J. 2007. Disaster preparation
and recovery: lessons from research on resilience in human
development. Ecology and Society 13(1): 9. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss1/art9/.
\iv\ Wallace, D., and R. Wallace. 2007. Urban Systems during
Disasters: Factors in Resilience. Ecology and Society 13(1): 18.
[online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss1/art18/.
\v\ Abramson, D., Soo Park, Y., Stehling-Ariza, T., Redlener, I.
2010. Children as Bellwethers of Recovery: Dysfunctional Systems and
the Effects of Parents, Households, and Neighborhoods on Serious
Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina. Disaster
Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 4(S1): S17-27.
\vi\ NHSS.
[FR Doc. 2013-24096 Filed 9-30-13; 8:45 am]
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