Thursday, February 23
1:30 PM–3:30 PM

Session Title: Grant Alignment Town Hall Meeting
Presenters:
RADM Clare Helminiak, MD, MPH Chief Medical Officer, USPHS Deputy Director for Medical Surge
Chris Kosmos, BSN, MS, Director, Division of State and Local Readiness
Elizabeth M. Harman. MS, MBA, Assistant Administrator, Grant Programs Directorate

Session Description:
Multiple federal departments and agencies distribute preparedness funds and/or provide technical assistance and national strategies in support of various preparedness activities. The White House National Security Staff has requested that HHS, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) work to better align their federal preparedness grant programs.

Consequently, ASPR, CDC, HRSA, FEMA, and NHTSA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that creates an interagency group that will meet regularly to identify and discuss grant coordination opportunities. The MOU is not a commitment to share or exchange funds; rather, it establishes a formal framework that supports joint federal planning to focus dollars, measure and improve preparedness outcomes, reduce duplication, report results, and enhance return on investment. Ultimately, the agencies hope to optimize the nation’s investments in emergency public health and health care preparedness that are consistent with national strategies and priorities, and to improve preparedness outcomes.

Grant programs subject to MOU include:

• CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program;
• ASPR’s Hospital Preparedness Program;
• ASPR’s Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals;
• ASPR Postal Model for Medical Countermeasures Delivery and Distribution; and
• FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program (i.e., State Homeland Security Program, Citizen Corps Program, Metropolitan Medical Response System Program, Urban Areas Security Initiative).
  

To promote responsible stewardship of federal funds, reduce administrative burdens on awardees, and improve efficiencies, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working closely to align their preparedness programs in time for the 2012 grant cycle. 

Together, ASPR and CDC are jointly restructuring specific components of ASPR’s Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreements. These include grants application, management, evaluation, and reporting processes. Expected changes for 2012 include:

• One single HPP-PHEP funding opportunity announcement (FOA), funding application, and grant award;
• Aligned HPP and PHEP grant cycles;
• One grants administration shop;
• Common IT portal for awardees; and
• Joint capabilities and metrics.
  

These efforts are not intended to result in a reduction of HPP and PHEP funding to states, localities, and territories. Investing in preparedness capabilities at the state and local levels is critical to ensure communities are more resilient and better able to respond effectively to public health threats.

The purpose of this Town Hall session is to describe the status of this grant alignment effort at the time of the Preparedness Summit (February 2012), including FY 12 HPP-PHEP application, program monitoring and reporting requirements. 

This forum is designed to

• Solicit additional feedback from the awardee community on the grant alignment initiative; and
• Provide the opportunity for peer to peer awardee interaction provide the opportunity for awardees to seek clarifying information on pending program changes.
  

Thursday, February 23
1:30 PM–3:30 PM

Session Title:  Everything You Wanted to Know and Ask about Medical Countermeasures
Moderator:
Lisa Kaplowitz, MD, MSHA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, US Department of Health and Human Services

Session Description:
The United States continues to face the risk of serious public health threats from the deliberate use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents, and from natural disasters and emerging infectious diseases and pandemics.  Mitigating the morbidity and mortality from such events depends upon the acquisition and timely dispensing of medical countermeasures  (MCMs). Recent national guidance, including the National Health Security Strategy and Executive Order 13527, highlight the importance of products and capabilities to help ensure that MCMs reach the responder and general populations. 

The spectrum and scale of potential threats necessitates delineating preparedness and response roles and capacities across the “whole of Nation.” Local, state, and federal governmental public health agencies need to work in collaboration and coordination with hospitals and the medical sector, as well as business and private industry. Other federal agencies, like the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, contribute critical guidance and assistance across the life-cycle of a public health disaster.

New products on the horizon and novel dispensing strategies can enhance the reach and capabilities of the public health sector. Evolving threats and policy may expand past traditional post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) strategies, to include vaccine. However, the use of Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) for both pre- and post-exposure use presents clinical, logistical, and communication challenges for the public health sector. The conditions under which certain MCMs can be used may be dependent upon Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and Investigational New Drug (IND) authorities. Special populations, like pediatrics, pose specific issues to public health and medical practitioners.  

This Town Hall is designed to both offer federal updates, progress, and perspectives regarding ongoing efforts and provide a forum for questions and comments. A panel of experts representing the Division of Medical Countermeasures Strategy and Requirements (MCSR), BARDA, FDA, ASPR, CDC/DSNS, and other federal agencies will offer short presentations for the first half of the Town Hall. Topics presented will include new product development, traditional and novel distribution and dispensing strategies (e.g. the postal model, pre-positioning), EUA and IND, pediatric and special populations, risk communication, integrating MCM dispensing efforts with nontraditional partners (private sector, DoD), and other topics. The second half of this session will be opened to the audience, which will be invited to offer discussion and pose questions to the panelists regarding topics that have been presented, or other relevant issues.