South Carolina Department of Public Health / Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) - The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH), and our four (4) regional Healthcare Coalitions (HCCs) will use both the upcoming National Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities and the Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities for Health Care Coalitions (formerly known as the 2017 – 2022 Health Care Preparedness and Response Capabilities) to support DPH and HCCs approach to whole community health care readiness. Both sets of capabilities will serve as a guide for DPH, the Coalitions and the health care delivery system as a whole, and the activities laid out in the cooperative agreement will support DPH and the Coalitions in achieving them. DPH agrees with and understands that HPP is a whole-of-community endeavor, connecting health care entities at the local, state, regional, and national levels plan for and respond to emergencies and disasters by addressing community needs, building connectivity, and saving lives. DPH and the healthcare coalitions will utilize funding to continue to build partnerships and collaboration among intra-state and interstate partners to address emergencies that may exceed the state’s day-to-day capacity of healthcare and emergency response systems, particularly in rural underserved counties and communities. HCCs will continue to sustain and enhance their capabilities utilizing the associated objectives and activities (Establish Governance, Assess Readiness, Plan and Implement, Response Plans, Continuity and Recovery Plan, and Exercise and Improve activities) prescribed in the 2024-2028 Notice of Funding Opportunity document. DPH and HCCs will contract with an external entity who has the capability to assist in development of a statewide Strategic Plan to inform and guide the direction of the state’s HPP Program. Additionally, HPP funding will be utilized to build upon the assessment and readiness requirements outlined in the NOFO, including but not limited to, workforce assessment, cybersecurity assessment, extended downtime healthcare delivery impact assessment, information sharing plan, and patient movement plan. All of these requirements, and others outlined in the NOFO, will culminate in aiding plans development and exercises to test and identify plan gaps. HCCs will continue to expand coalition membership for both defined partners and support service providers, as well as sustain HCC governance documents, including member guidelines, preparedness plans and response plans which will be reviewed annually and updated based on membership occurrence. All new members will be provided with an orientation to the Response Plan and asked to document their roles, resources and responsibilities and maintain visibility on the Response Plan improvements. All HCCs will participate in development of a Risk Assessment (formerly JRA) to help inform and update Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) that is designed to engage the whole of community, identify organizational priorities, underserved and at-risk communities, and improve the coalition's capability to successfully prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergency disasters. HCCs will identify related training and exercise gaps resulting from real-world events, MRSE Exercises, state-level Full Scale Exercises, and HVA findings. HCCs will complete a Supply Chain Integrity Assessment. HCCs will update and maintain a list of jurisdictional resources and services that can be coordinated and shared in an emergency. HCCs will update and maintain visibility on their members' resources and resource needs, such as personnel, facilities, equipment, and supplies. DPH and HCCs will identify related training and exercise gaps. HCCs will prioritize their gaps in preparing for HPP funded projects for BP2. As justification of the identified gaps, HCCs will produce After-action reviews and Improvement Plans for all jurisdictional exercises and events. HCCs will promote NDMS and participate in exercises, as required.
