AHA RECEIVES FUNDING AWARD FROM HHS TO SUPPORT PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

CHICAGO (January 20, 2022) - The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced a five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen and reimagine the emergency management system for the nation's health care and public health preparedness, response and recovery efforts for disasters and other emergencies.

The multi-million dollar, five-year funding period through the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is focused on community health resilience, national health security lessons learned from the ongoing pandemic and providing technical assistance across sectors.

The partnership will tap into the AHA's nearly 5,000 hospital and health systems, as well as over 43,000 individual members. The AHA membership reflects 90% of the nation's facilities, uniquely positioning the organization to help lead changes to emergency and preparedness strategy. The program will convene a cross-section of health care and public health leaders who prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and other emergencies in order to identify and share valuable lessons learned and promising practices from the pandemic. Through these initiatives, informed by members and key stakeholders, the project positions the AHA to provide feedback on relevant federal policy issues and initiatives.

"The AHA considers emergency and disaster preparedness paramount to the health and well-being of hospitals and health systems," said Michelle Hood, executive vice president and COO of AHA. "As learned throughout the current pandemic, the ability to identify and disseminate crucial information during the formative moments of a crisis cannot be taken for granted. That is why we are so pleased to begin this partnership with ASPR, where we can work together to create meaningful changes to the awareness and readiness of disaster response. This collaboration will help save lives and strengthen the overall state of public health in this nation."

The funding partnership began in fall 2021 and runs through fall 2026.

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About the American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners - including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers - and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.

Contact: Sean Barry, [email protected]