Issue Category: Environmental Health

Nuevo Informe Coloca A 25 Estados Y Distrito De Columbia En Un Nivel De Alto Rendimiento (10) en Medidas De Salud Pública Para Preparación De Emergencias

A medida que aumentan las amenazas, la evaluación anual determina que el nivel de preparación de los estados para emergencias sanitarias está mejorando en algunas áreas, pero está estancado en otras

(Washington, DC) – Veinticinco Estados y el Distrito de Columbia tuvieron un alto desempeño en una medida de tres niveles de preparación de los Estados para proteger la salud public durante una emergencia, según un nuevo informe publicado hoy por Trust for America’s Health (TFAH, por su sigla en inglés).  El informe anual, Ready or Not 2020: Proteging the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, encontró una mejora año tras año entre las 10 medidas de preparación para emergencias, pero también señala áreas que necesitan mejoras. El año pasado, 17 Estados se clasificaron en el nivel superior del informe.

Para 2020, 12 Estados se ubicaron en el nivel de rendimiento medio, por debajo de 20 Estados y el Distrito de Columbia en el nivel medio el año pasado, y 13 se ubicaron en el nivel de rendimiento bajo, el mismo número que el año pasado.

El informe encontró que el nivel de preparación de los estados ha mejorado en áreas claves, que incluyen fondos de salud pública, participación en coaliciones y pactos de atención médica, seguridad hospitalaria y vacunación contra la gripe. Sin embargo, otras medidas clave de seguridad de la salud, que incluyen garantizar un suministro de agua seguro y acceso a tiempo libre remunerado, está estancado o perdido.

Nivel de Rendimiento Estados Numero de Estados
Alto AL, CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ,
NM, OK, PA, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, W		 25 Estados y DC
Medio AZ, CA, FL, GA, KY, LA, MI, MN, ND, OR, RI, TX 12 Estados

Bajo		 AK, AR, HI, IN, MT, NH, NV, NY, OH, SC, SD, WV, WY 13 Estados

 

El informe mide el desempeño anualmente de los Estados utilizando 10 indicadores que, en conjunto, proporcionan una lista de verificación del nivel de preparación de una jurisdicción para prevenir y responder a las amenazas a la salud de sus residentes durante una emergencia. Los indicadores son:

Indicadores de Preparación
1 Gestión de incidentes: adopción del Pacto de licencia de enfermería 6 Seguridad del agua: Porcentaje de la población que utilizó un sistema de agua comunitario que no cumplió con todos los estándares de salud aplicables.
2 Colaboración comunitaria intersectorial: porcentaje de hospitales que participan en coaliciones de atención médica. 7 Resistencia laboral y control de infecciones: porcentaje de población ocupada con tiempo libre remunerado.
3 Calidad institucional: acreditación de la Junta de Acreditación de Salud Pública 8 Utilización de contramedidas: porcentaje de personas de 6 meses o más que recibieron una vacuna contra la gripe estacional.
4 Calidad institucional: acreditación del Programa de acreditación de gestión de emergencias. 9 Seguridad del paciente: porcentaje de hospitales con una clasificación de alta calidad (grado “A”) en el grado de seguridad del hospital Leapfrog.
5 Calidad institucional: tamaño del presupuesto estatal de salud pública, en comparación con el año pasado. 10 Vigilancia de la seguridad de la salud: el laboratorio de salud pública tiene un plan para un aumento de la capacidad de prueba de seis a ocho semanas.

Cuatro Estados (Delaware, Pensilvania, Tennessee y Utah) pasaron del nivel de bajo rendimiento en el informe del año pasado al nivel alto en el informe de este año. Seis Estados (Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Nuevo México, Oklahoma, Vermont) y el Distrito de Columbia pasaron del nivel medio al nivel alto. Ningún Estado cayó del nivel alto al bajo, pero seis pasaron del nivel medio al bajo: Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Carolina del Sur y Virginia Occidental.

“El creciente número de amenazas para la salud de los estadounidenses en 2019, desde inundaciones hasta incendios forestales y vapeo, demuestra la importancia crítica de un sistema de salud pública sólido. Estar preparado es a menudo la diferencia entre daños o no daños durante emergencias de salud y requiere cuatro cosas: planificación, financiamiento dedicado, cooperación interinstitucional y jurisdiccional, y una fuerza laboral calificada de salud pública “, dijo John Auerbach, presidente y CEO de Trust for America’s Health.

“Si bien el informe de este año muestra que, como nación, estamos más preparados para enfrentar emergencias de salud pública, todavía no estamos tan preparados como deberíamos estar”. Se necesita más planificación e inversión para salvar vidas”, dijo Auerbach.

El análisis de TFAH encontró que:

  • La mayoría de los Estados tienen planes para expandir la capacidad de atención médica en una emergencia a través de programas como el Pacto de Licencias de Enfermería u otras coaliciones de atención médica. Treinta y dos Estados participaron en el Pacto de Licencias de Enfermeras, que permite a las enfermeras licenciadas practicar en múltiples jurisdicciones durante una emergencia. Además, el 89 por ciento de los hospitales a nivel nacional participaron en una coalición de atención médica, y 17 estados y el Distrito de Columbia tienen participación universal, lo que significa que todos los hospitales del estado (+ DC) participaron en una coalición. Además, 48 ​​Estados y DC tenían un plan para aumentar la capacidad del laboratorio de salud pública durante una emergencia.
  • La mayoría de los Estados están acreditados en las áreas de salud pública, manejo de emergencias o ambos. Dicha acreditación ayuda a garantizar que los sistemas necesarios de prevención y respuesta ante emergencias estén implementados y que cuenten con personal calificado.
  • La mayoría de las personas que tienen agua de su hogar a través de un sistema de agua comunitario tenían acceso a agua segura. Según los datos de 2018, en promedio, solo el 7 por ciento de los residentes estatales obtuvieron el agua de su hogar de un sistema de agua comunitario que no cumplía con los estándares de salud aplicables, un poco más del 6 por ciento en 2017.
  • Las tasas de vacunación contra la gripe estacional mejoraron, pero aún son demasiado bajas. La tasa de vacunación contra la gripe estacional entre los estadounidenses de 6 meses en adelante aumentó del 42 por ciento durante la temporada de gripe 2017-2018 al 49 por ciento durante la temporada 2018-2019, pero las tasas de vacunación todavía están muy por debajo del objetivo del 70 por ciento establecido por Healthy People 2020.
  • En 2019, solo el 55 por ciento de las personas empleadas tenían acceso a tiempo libre remunerado, el mismo porcentaje que en 2018. Se ha demostrado que la ausencia de tiempo libre remunerado exacerba algunos brotes de enfermedades infecciosas. También puede evitar que las personas reciban atención preventiva.
  • Solo el 30 por ciento de los hospitales, en promedio, obtuvieron las mejores calificaciones de seguridad del paciente, un poco más que el 28 por ciento en 2018. Los puntajes de seguridad hospitalaria miden el desempeño en temas tales como las tasas de infección asociadas a la atención médica, la capacidad de cuidados intensivos y una cultura general de prevención de errores. Dichas medidas son críticas para la seguridad del paciente durante los brotes de enfermedades infecciosas y también son una medida de la capacidad del hospital para funcionar bien durante una emergencia.

Otras secciones del informe describen cómo el sistema de salud pública fue fundamental para la respuesta a la crisis de vapeo, cómo las inequidades en salud ponen a algunas comunidades en mayor riesgo durante una emergencia y las necesidades de las personas con discapacidad durante una emergencia.

Se puede acceder al informe completo en Ready or Not 2020 report.

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Trust for America’s Health es una organización sin fines de lucro y no partidista que promueve la salud óptima para cada persona y comunidad y hace de la prevención de enfermedades y lesiones una prioridad nacional. www.tfah.org. Twitter: @ healthyamerica1

New Report Places 25 States and DC in High Performance Tier on 10 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Measures

As Threats Increase, Annual Assessment Finds States’ Level of Readiness for Health Emergencies is Improving in Some Areas but Stalled in Others

February 5, 2020

(Washington, DC) – Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia were high-performers on a three-tier measure of states’ preparedness to protect the public’s health during an  emergency, according to a new report released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). The annual report, Ready or Not 2020: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, found year-over-year improvement among 10 emergency readiness measures, but also notes areas in need of improvement. Last year, 17 states ranked in the report’s top tier.

For 2020, 12 states placed in the middle performance tier, down from 20 states and the District of Columbia in the middle tier last year, and 13 placed in the low performance tier, the same number as last year.

The report found that states’ level of preparedness has improved in key areas, including public health funding, participation in healthcare coalitions and compacts, hospital safety, and seasonal flu vaccination. However, other key health security measures, including ensuring a safe water supply and access to paid time off, stalled or lost ground.

Performance Tier States Number of States
High Tier AL, CO, CT, DC, DE, IA, ID, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MO,
MS, NC, NE, NJ, NM, OK, PA, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI		 25 states and DC
Middle Tier AZ, CA, FL, GA, KY, LA, MI, MN, ND, OR, RI, TX 12 states
Low Tier AK, AR, HI, IN, MT, NH, NV, NY, OH, SC, SD, WV, WY 13 states

 

The report measures states’ performance on an annual basis using 10 indicators that, taken together, provide a checklist of a jurisdiction’s level of preparedness to prevent and respond to threats to its residents’ health during an emergency. The indicators are:

Preparedness Indicators 
1 Incident Management: Adoption of the Nurse Licensure Compact. 6 Water Security: Percentage of the population who used a community water system that failed to meet all applicable health-based standards.
2 Cross-Sector Community collaboration: Percentage of hospitals participating in healthcare coalitions. 7 Workforce Resiliency and Infection Control: Percentage of employed population with paid time off.
3 Institutional Quality: Accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. 8 Countermeasure Utilization: Percentage of people ages 6 months or older who received a seasonal flu vaccination.
4 Institutional Quality: Accreditation by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program. 9 Patient Safety: Percentage of hospitals with a top-quality ranking (“A” grade) on the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.
5 Institutional Quality: Size of the state public health budget, compared with the past year. 10 Health Security Surveillance: The public health laboratory has a plan for a six-to eight-week surge in testing capacity.

Four states (Delaware, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Utah) moved from the low performance tier in last year’s report to the high tier in this year’s report. Six states (Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont) and the District of Columbia moved up from the middle tier to the high tier. No state fell from the high to the low tier but six moved from the middle to the low tier. Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

“The increasing number of threats to Americans’ health in 2019, from floods to wildfires to vaping, demonstrate the critical importance of a robust public health system. Being prepared is often the difference between harm or no harm during health emergencies and requires four things: planning, dedicated funding, interagency and jurisdictional cooperation, and a skilled public health workforce,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

“While this year’s report shows that, as a nation, we are more prepared to deal with public health emergencies, we’re still not as prepared as we should be. More planning and investment are necessary to saves lives,” Auerbach said.

TFAH’s analysis found that:

  • A majority of states have plans in place to expand healthcare capacity in an emergency through programs such as the Nurse Licensure Compact or other healthcare coalitions. Thirty-two states participated in the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows licensed nurses to practice in multiple jurisdictions during an emergency. Furthermore, 89 percent of hospitals nationally participated in a healthcare coalition, and 17 states and the District of Columbia have universal participation meaning every hospital in the state (+DC)  participated in a coalition. In addition, 48 states and DC had a plan to surge public health laboratory capacity during an emergency.
  • Most states are accredited in the areas of public health, emergency management, or both. Such accreditation helps ensure that necessary emergency prevention and response systems are in place and staffed by qualified personnel.
  • Most people who got their household water through a community water system had access to safe water. Based on 2018 data, on average, just 7 percent of state residents got their household water from a community water system that did not meet applicable health standards, up slightly from 6 percent in 2017.
  • Seasonal flu vaccination rates improved but are still too low. The seasonal flu vaccination rate among Americans ages 6 months and older rose from 42 percent during the 2017-2018 flu season to 49 percent during the 2018-2019 season, but vaccination rates are still well below the 70 percent target established by Healthy People 2020.
  • In 2019, only 55 percent of employed people had access to paid time off, the same percentage as in 2018. The absence of paid time off has been shown to exacerbate some infectious disease outbreaks . It can also prevent people from getting preventive care.
  • Only 30 percent of hospitals, on average, earned top patient safety grades, up slightly from 28 percent in 2018. Hospital safety scores measure performance on such issues as healthcare associated infection rates, intensive-care capacity and an overall culture of error prevention. Such measures are critical to patient safety during infectious disease outbreaks and are also a measure of a hospital’s ability to perform well during an emergency.

The report includes recommended policy actions that the federal government, states and the healthcare sector  should take to improve the nation’s ability to protect the public’s health during emergencies.

Other sections of the report describe how the public health system was critical to the vaping crisis response, how health inequities put some communities at greater risk during an emergency, and the needs of people with disabilities during an emergency.

Read the full text report

Vaccines Prevent Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Protect Communities (August 2019)

Infectious diseases disrupt the lives millions of Americans every year.  Fortunately, vaccines can prevent many of these diseases.  Nonetheless, because the U.S. vaccination rates are lower than they should be, unnecessary illness and even death occurs.

For example, the seasonal flu causes much preventable suffering.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found an estimated 80,000 people died—among them, 185 children—from seasonal flu in 2017–2018, nearly twice what is considered typical during an average flu year. In addition to the devastating health impacts, it is estimated that seasonal flu costs the nation approximately $87 billion in medical spending and lost work productivity annually.

The U.S. is currently in the midst of its worst measles outbreak in two decades, causing more than 1,000 cases.  With the measles outbreak still growing, it is important to highlight the life-saving impacts of vaccines for people of all ages and take actions to ensure that vaccine use remains a common practice.

Key Findings

  • Vaccines have helped save up to 3 million lives per year worldwide by preventing diseases such as hepatitis B, meningitis, measles and polio. Additionally, researchers say that every dollar spent on vaccination brings back return on investment in health, economic and societal benefits in 94 low to middle income countries.
  • The CDC estimates that vaccination of children born between 1994 and 2018 in the U.S. will prevent 419 million illnesses, help avoid 936,000 deaths, and save nearly $1.9 trillion in total societal costs.
  • In 2018, the CDC reported that the percentage of children under age 2 who had not received any recommended vaccinations quadrupled since 2001.
  • Adult vaccination rates remain far below targets in Healthy People 2020, including for hepatitis B, seasonal flu, pneumococcal, and shingles.
  • Seasonal flu vaccination rates for Americans ages 6 months and older dropped from 47 percent in the 2016-2017 season to 42 percent during the 2017-2018 season. The 2017– 2018 flu season in the United States was the deadliest in nearly 40 years—tragically underscoring the importance of annual vaccination.
  • The World Health Organization has named vaccine hesitancy, the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines, as one of the top ten threats to global health.

Recommendations

  • Significantly increase support for the vaccine infrastructure, outbreak prevention and response. CDC’s immunization program supports state and local immunization programs to increase vaccine rates among uninsured and underinsured adults and children, respond to outbreaks, educate the public and target hard-to-reach populations, improve vaccine confidence, establish partnerships, and improve information systems. Funding has not kept up with needs as states have to spend immunization dollars to respond to outbreaks, increases in the numbers of those who lack health insurance and vaccines, such as HPV, that are underused. Congress should significantly increase funding for CDC’s immunization program.
  • Raise awareness about the importance of vaccination and improve vaccine acceptance. Government, healthcare providers, health systems and other trusted partners should use varied and targeted media channels to educate people about the importance, effectiveness, and safety of vaccinations. Congress should provide needed resources to the United States Department of Health and Human Services to study the causes for vaccine resistance and to educate clinical providers on methods for improving vaccine acceptance.
  • Minimize vaccine exemptions for schoolchildren and healthcare workers. States should enact policies that enable universal childhood vaccinations to ensure children, their classmates, educators and the general public are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. This includes eliminating non-medical exemptions and opposing legislation to expand exemptions. States should ensure medical vaccine exemptions are only given when appropriate and are not used as a de facto personal belief exemption in states where those exemptions have been eliminated. Healthcare personnel should also be required to receive all recommended vaccinations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in order to protect staff and patients, assure continuity of operations in the event of an outbreak and, achieve necessary healthcare infection control. Healthcare facilities should ensure access to vaccines for all staff and contractors and remove barriers for staff receiving vaccines.
  • Ensure first-dollar coverage for recommended vaccines under Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance. Public and private payers should ensure that ACIP-recommended vaccines are fully covered, as cost-sharing can be a significant barrier to vaccination.
  • Increase the pool of providers who immunize. As new vaccines are approved, reaching target populations will be critical. States can expand certain health care providers’ roles and scopes of practice to increase the pool of professionals who give shots, such as pharmacists and paramedics.  All insurance plans should consider including pharmacies and other complementary providers as in-network and receive equal payment for vaccine administration services for their adult and pediatric populations.

 

 

3 WINS Fitness: Free Exercise Classes get Communities Moving

Regular physical activity promotes good health and well-being. Yet, about 80 percent of American adults do not meet the minimum recommended levels for cardiovascular activity and strength training needed to support optimal health and prevent the risk of chronic diseases.

3 WINS Fitness seeks to improve community health by increasing people’s physical activity levels. Launched in 2011 as 100 Citizens by California State University, Northridge’s (CSUN) Department of Kinesiology in partnership with Recreation Park in San Fernando, CA, 3 WINS Fitness offers a tailored and comprehensive free exercise intervention that is sustainable and replicable through its delivery by university kinesiology students. Programs are provided at public parks, faith-based institutions, and public schools, and currently they operate at six sites across Los Angeles County serving over 300 participants.

In 2013 the White House recognized and gave an award to the program through First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. Since then, the program has scaled to three other universities within the California State University system.

Their program’s “3 WINS” reflects their social impact priorities: community health, participant fitness, and student professional development.

WIN 1: Community Health

Access and affordability to safe places to engage in physical activity promotes optimal community health. However, many low-income communities do not have affordable access to safe places for physical activity, and thus have a disproportionate burden of disease compared to wealthier communities.

Steven Loy, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology at CSUN and founder/faculty advisor for 3 WINS Fitness says the program focuses on those underserved communities which are at high risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other chronic diseases related to physical inactivity.

“Having a program in their neighborhood park, school, and church where they can easily walk to and exercise, especially where there are no other physical activity programs is important,” said Loy. “We are holding it in communities that county public health has identified as areas where health inequities exist, and we are helping to address the social determinants of health by improving the physical activity conditions of those communities.”

Loy says through their research with RAND Corporation and the data they have collected, they observed a greater use of park facilities with the introduction of structured physical activity, in particular for the senior population reflecting a sense of safety and community among themselves and their students.

WIN 2: Participant Health

Program Coordinator, Josh Carlos with 3 WINS Fitness participant Maria Ortiz-Rojas.

3 WINS Fitness provides participants with a dynamic 60-minute exercise routine three times per week for adults of all ages and fitness abilities, including a falls prevention group, and free diabetes prevention program modified from the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Loy noted, “participants who attend the three classes per week exceed the minimum recommended levels for cardiovascular activity and strength training cited in the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines. Throughout the years, our 3 WINS Fitness participants have had many success stories.”

“Doctors said I would need surgery for a back injury, I was in constant pain, I couldn’t even lift my arms to brush my hair” said 3 WINS participant of two years Balvina Nuño. “Since joining 3 WINS, the injury has healed without surgery. I can now lift my arms over my head, and I have lost 30 pounds! I am thankful to God and the instructors for giving me my life back.”

Other participants of the program have also reported improved health.

“I started 3 WINS Fitness last summer and have lost over 40 pounds,” said Andrea Veronica. “I am diabetic and was required to inject insulin 6 times a day. Because of this program, today I am no longer required to inject myself or take any medication. I am happy and feel more energetic than ever!”

“I started this program in October 2017 as a pre-diabetic,” added Candy Lopez. “I have lost 24 pounds, and I feel happier and have more energy. I love coming here because the participants and instructors create such a strong family-like community that I feel motivated to come workout every time.”

WIN 3: Student Professional Development

The kinesiology students involved in the program include both undergraduate and graduate students trained and educated in exercise and human movement. For them, 3 WINS Fitness is an opportunity to apply their education, gain job-related experience, and grow in leadership skills and self-empowerment.

“Noting the constant changes happening in health care reform, I realized what we are doing through 3 WINS Fitness is so special and is soon, if not already, to become the face of preventative health care methods that is efficient, cost-effective, and helps not only me as a healthcare provider, but most importantly, the individuals in the communities around us attain their best level of health and fitness,” said Angelica Alberto, a former 3 WINS Fitness student volunteer who is now pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Master of Public Health dual degree at Northwestern University.

Loy says it is also an opportunity to show communities what those educated in kinesiology can do for public health.

“We have found that there are few opportunities created for kinesiology and public health to work together. We are trying to change that with upstream solutions to the ideas promoted by Public Health 3.0,” said Loy. “We have recruited students to create an ongoing army of individuals trained in physical activity who are pursuing additional public health education opportunities, and, are motivated and enthusiastic to deliver programming that reaches the whole community to improve health.”

Where is the Program Going?


3 WINS Fitness participants receive exercise programming from 3 WINS Fitness kinesiology students during a 3 WINS
Fitness Summit held in April 2018.

Throughout 3 WINS Fitness’ journey, partnerships have been critical. The program has teamed with public and private sector partnerships with parks and recreation, public health, universities and research institutions, hospitals, and health and fitness organizations to sustain, scale, and provide accessible physical activity programming to communities.

One of those partners is the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., ACE President and Chief Science Officer says “ACE’s partnership with 3 WINS Fitness helps us fulfill our mission to get people moving, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic background.”

In the spring of 2018, ACE partnered with 3 WIN Fitness to hold a Summit to demonstrate the program to stakeholders. One of the attendees included Loretta DiPietro, Ph.D., professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She was also a committee member of the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee which reviewed the scientific evidence and prepared a report about physical activity and health for the second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

She said, “I’ve been waiting my entire public health career to see the science of exercise and physical activity translated and scaled up to the community level so elegantly and effectively. The cultural wave of change in how communities adopt an active lifestyle begins now with 3WINS Fitness!”

According to a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11.1 percent in total health care expenditures were associated with inadequate levels of physical activity. However, if programs were in place to help adults meet current guidelines for physical activity, the country could avert up to an estimated $117 billion in preventable health care spending.

Loy said 3 WINS Fitness is part of that solution, and their next goal is to scale 3 WINS Fitness through universities across the country by training staff to develop and sustain their own program specific to their community.

“There are over 700 universities with kinesiology programs,” said Loy. “Our experience in replicating our program, as well as scaling it to other universities has identified the challenges existing for collaboration among public health, kinesiology, parks and recreation, and faith-based organizations, but it has also been an 8-year demonstration that an affordable sustainable solution is possible if we work together. The university kinesiology model can drive community wide disease prevention programs which can be customized for the needs of the community.”

*3 WINS Fitness Banner Photo Credit: Carmen Anthony

TFAH Applauds Passage of Critical Preparedness Legislation

Adopting the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act Supports the  Nation’s Health Security

(Washington, DC) – John Auerbach, president and CEO, of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) today made the following statement regarding the congressional passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation (PAHPAI) Act.

“Trust for America’s Health applauds Congress for working in a bipartisan manner to pass important legislation to advance our nation’s health security. The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act shows that we are learning the lessons from recent disasters and disease outbreaks and addressing ongoing challenges. Passage of this legislation, was a top recommendation in TFAH’s recent report, Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.

During the Zika outbreak, it took about nine months to approve emergency supplemental funding. And recent severe weather showed that we are still not prepared for a worst-case scenario event. In this legislation, lawmakers try to address some of the gaps that these events exposed. The bill makes it easier to get money out more efficiently to address a public health emergency. It codifies the roles of federal agencies in managing important preparedness programs and ensures we are consistently improving the performance of awardees. It supports outbreak detection through workforce and strategy enhancements. It reauthorizes programs for research, development and stockpiling of medical countermeasures and seeks to speed the capability to deploy those products.

Public health and health care are at the frontlines in responding to health crises large and small.  The fact that Congress passed this bill is acknowledgement that health security is national security.

Now, we call on Congress to give this legislation the teeth it needs by providing adequate funding for these critical public health programs.”

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Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.  www.tfah.org. Twitter: @healthyamerica1