Thursday, June 1, 2023
6/1/2023
The mission of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (MDPH OPEM) is to build resilience and ensure that all people in the Commonwealth can prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate emergencies that affect their health and welfare. OPEM accomplishes this by working effectively with all partners to plan for and support responses to any and all hazards that impact public health. During this five-year Cooperative Agreement, MDPH will strengthen state, local, and tribal public health preparedness and response capabilities. Using the logic model to integrate planning, implementation and evaluation, MDPH has developed a Budget Period 1 (BP1) work plan and budget focused upon the activities and program requirements within six domains and the 15 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capabilities that comprise them: Domain 1: Community Resilience Domain 2: Incident Management Domain 3: Information Management Domain 4: Countermeasures and Mitigation Domain 5: Surge Management Domain 6: Biosurveillance Over the project period, MDPH will work with local health and the tribes to prevent or reduce morbidity and mortality from public health incidents whose scale, rapid onset or unpredictability stresses the public health system. MDPH will ensure measurable progress across the six capability domains which will result in the earliest possible recovery and return of the public health system to pre-incident levels or improved functioning. Despite a reduction in PHEP funding, MDPH was able to level fund local health coalitions while maintaining the existing funding formula that utilizes a population plus base award per community approach. During BP1, local public health will continue its focus upon sustaining their capability for rapid distribution and dispensing of lifesaving medications. This includes attention to strong emergency dispensing site planning for emerging infectious diseases such as pandemic influenza, an anthrax event, and other public health threats or hazards. In addition, public health departments will engage community partners who have established relationships with diverse at-risk populations to ensure planning for all populations including those with access and functional needs. During BP1, MDPH will monitor and evaluate progress with implementing the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capabilities by designing and implementing a program evaluation and monitoring system. This will provide a strong foundation to ensure the MDPH OPEM preparedness program is in line with intended goals and provides a means to collect reporting and program measures from local health and the tribes to ensure that deliverables are being met in a consistent, efficient and effective manner.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
