Thursday, November 30, 2023
11/30/2023
The State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is dedicated to increasing the ability of state, local and tribal entities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies and disasters. With the support of PHEP funding, DHSS will work with critical public health stakeholders to coordinate planning, communicate to exchange critical information, train and exercise to improve systems, and complete activities that demonstrate measurable progress in all six PHEP preparedness domains and fifteen capability standards. Expected outcomes of this project include: • Timely implementation of public health intervention and control measures • Continuity of emergency operations throughout the surge of a public health incident • Timely communication of situational awareness and risk information by public health partners • Timely procurement and expedited staffing to support medical countermeasure distribution and dispensing • Timely coordination and support of response activities with health care and other partners • Earliest possible identification and investigation of an incident with public health impact DHSS implements a comprehensive set of strategies and activities in order to achieve progress towards these outcomes. In Budget Period 1 of this current cooperative agreement, DHSS’s key activities include: maintenance of Epidemiological, Public Health Laboratory, Health Emergency Response and Public Health Nursing capabilities to identify and respond to possible public health threats; consistent training and recruitment of DHSS EOC staff members to sustain public health response; implementation of the statewide Common Operating Picture software; integration of surveillance systems to align information and share with critical stakeholders; and joint exercises and trainings with health care partners. Through the use of PHEP funding and implementation of the activities and outcomes described above, Alaska will advance the statewide efforts to strengthen community resilience, incident management practices, information management, countermeasures and mitigation, public health surge management, and biosurveillance.
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).
