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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24, 2022

Contact ASPR Press Office
asprmedia@hhs.gov
aspr.hhs.gov/newsroom
Twitter: @ASPRgov 


ASPR Awards​ $21 Million to Health Facilities to Enhance Nation's Preparedness for Special Pathogens

13 regional healthcare facilities received funding to expand and enhance America’s preparedness and response efforts against special pathogens such as COVID-19


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently awarded $21 million to 13 healthcare facilities to serve as leading providers of care within their regions to sustain and improve healthcare system preparedness for emerging special pathogens.

“New or emerging special pathogens are a significant threat to the nation's health, economy, and national security. Our responses to Ebola, COVID-19, and Monkeypox have highlighted a need to increase our readiness to respond to these threats," said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell. “We are taking this critical step to award new funding to our regional healthcare partners to strengthen the capabilities of their special pathogen programs and make our healthcare system better prepared to respond to these infectious diseases."

The awards will help integrate clinical and healthcare systems' operational expertise into existing preparedness and response structures at the regional, state, jurisdiction, and local levels. These healthcare facilities will be better prepared for medical surge capacity and to respond to and treat infectious diseases caused by special pathogens during public health and medical emergencies.

Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs) are hospitals with enhanced capability and capacity to care for highly infectious diseases, such as Ebola or COVID-19, and serve as regional hubs for the National Special Pathogen System. These hospitals are continuously ready and available to care for a special pathogen patient medically evacuated from overseas or diagnosed within the United States.

 ASPR selected three new healthcare facilities to serve as RESPTCs, providing $3 million each to: Washington Hospital Center in Washington, District of Columbia; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition, ASPR awarded funding to the ten existing RESPTCs, providing $1.2 million each to: 

  • Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
  • New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation/HHC Bellevue Hospital Center in New York, New York
  •  Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland 
  • Emory University Hospital and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta/Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia
  • University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in Galveston, Texas
  • Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska 
  • Denver Health & Hospital Authority in Denver, Colorado
  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California
  • Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington
About HHS and ASPR: HHS works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. ASPR leads HHS in preparing the nation to respond to and recover from adverse health effects of emergencies, supporting communities' ability to withstand adversity, strengthening health and response systems, and enhancing national health security.

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