On June 24, President Trump signed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act into law. This important piece of legislation helps ensure that critical initiatives such as the ADHS Public Health Emergency Preparedness program and the Hospital Preparedness Program will receive funding through 2023. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO) has developed a summary and a section-by-section overview of the new law.
Other components of the law include refinement of the National Health Security Strategy, development of Regional Healthcare Emergency Preparedness and Response Systems, a review of the Public Health Emergency Rapid Response Fund, and the reauthorization of the Strategic National Stockpile. Together, these key programs help ensure that state and local jurisdictions have the resources needed to respond to all types of public health emergencies and disasters.
In Arizona, these reauthorized funding streams will be used to continue all-hazards preparedness programs for local, state, tribal, and healthcare system partners. The law promotes ongoing collaboration with the behavioral health system; greater partnerships with healthcare facilities including hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities; and strengthened relationships between public health agencies and critical infrastructure partners like utility companies. Over the next five years, these investments will go a long way towards improving whole community preparedness across our state.
