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42 U.S.C. § 247d–3cGuidelines for regional health care emergency preparedness and response systems

submitted 82 years ago by Pub. L. 116-22 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 934 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This section tells the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to write guidelines. The guidelines cover regional hospital networks, patient care, and moving patients during emergencies. The Assistant Secretary must consult experts and may fund a demonstration project to test them.

(a) Purpose. This section's purpose is to identify and set guidelines for regional systems of hospitals, health care facilities, and other public and private groups. These systems have different levels of ability to treat patients, and the guidelines aim to boost surge capacity — the ability to treat many patients at once — before, during, and right after a public health emergency, including threats from chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents and emerging infectious diseases. (b) Guidelines. By around two years after June 24, 2019, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response — consulting with the CDC Director, CMS Administrator, HRSA Administrator, FDA Commissioner, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, other relevant federal agency heads, and state, local, tribal, and territorial public health officials — must: (1) identify and develop guidelines on all-hazards preparedness and response practices for hospitals and health facilities so they can give proper patient care during and around an emergency from chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents, or emerging infectious diseases. These guidelines may build on existing practices, like trauma care, and must cover: (A) a regional approach to grouping hospitals and facilities by their treatment ability and capacity, including how the system will connect with the coalitions under section 247d–3b and how it will inform first responders and supply chain partners about regional response capabilities and surge capacity; (B) physical and technological infrastructure, lab capacity, staffing, blood supply, and other supply needs, accounting for resiliency and rural or geographic factors; (C) best practices for protecting the safety of workers who handle human remains and health care workers — covering protective equipment, waste management, and decontamination — along with sharing expertise, behavioral health support, and workforce training; (D) how to safely contain disease while coordinating triage, treatment, and transport of patients — including patients in rural areas — to the right facilities within the region or, when needed, between systems in different states; and (E) the needs of children and other at-risk people. The Assistant Secretary must also: (2) post these guidelines on the HHS website in a way that doesn't compromise national security; and (3) update the guidelines as needed, including based on feedback described in subsections (c) and (e) and on relevant reports, to address new and emerging threats. (c) Considerations. While developing and updating these guidelines, the Assistant Secretary must: (1) get input from hospitals and health facilities (including the coalitions under section 247d–3b), state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments, and subject matter experts, including those knowledgeable about chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats; (2) consult health care providers and professionals — physicians, nurses, first responders, clinics, community health centers, mental health facilities, ambulatory and dental facilities, pharmacies, emergency medical providers, trauma providers, environmental health agencies, public health labs, poison control centers, blood banks, tissue banks, and other relevant experts; (3) consider the financial impact of following these guidelines on hospitals, facilities, health agencies, labs, and blood and tissue banks; and (4) consider financial requirements and possible incentives to help entities prepare for and respond to emergencies as part of the regional system. (d) Technical assistance. The Assistant Secretary, working with the CDC Director and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, can offer technical help and consultation to entities working to meet these guidelines. (e) Demonstration project for regional health care preparedness and response systems. (1) The Assistant Secretary can set up a demonstration project, tied to developing and carrying out the guidelines in subsection (b), to award grants that improve all-hazards surge capacity, build and connect regional medical response abilities, boost specialty care expertise, and coordinate preparedness across state, local, tribal, territorial, and regional lines. (2) This power to set up the demonstration project ended September 30, 2023.
the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain
(a) Purpose

It is the purpose of this section to identify and provide guidelines for regional systems of hospitals, health care facilities, and other public and private sector entities, with varying levels of capability to treat patients and increase medical surge capacity during, in advance of, and immediately following a public health emergency, including threats posed by one or more chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents, including emerging infectious diseases.

(b) Guidelines

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the heads of such other Federal agencies as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, and State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health officials, shall, not later than 2 years after June 24, 2019—

(1)

identify and develop a set of guidelines relating to practices and protocols for all-hazards public health emergency preparedness and response for hospitals and health care facilities to provide appropriate patient care during, in advance of, or immediately following, a public health emergency, resulting from one or more chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents, including emerging infectious diseases (which may include existing practices, such as trauma care and medical surge capacity and capabilities), with respect to—

(A)

a regional approach to identifying hospitals and health care facilities based on varying capabilities and capacity to treat patients affected by such emergency, including—

(i)

the manner in which the system will coordinate with and integrate the partnerships and health care coalitions established under section 247d–3b(b) of this title; and

(ii)

informing and educating appropriate first responders and health care supply chain partners of the regional emergency preparedness and response capabilities and medical surge capacity of such hospitals and health care facilities in the community;

(B)

physical and technological infrastructure, laboratory capacity, staffing, blood supply, and other supply chain needs, taking into account resiliency, geographic considerations, and rural considerations;

(C)

protocols or best practices for the safety and personal protection of workers who handle human remains and health care workers (including with respect to protective equipment and supplies, waste management processes, and decontamination), sharing of specialized experience among the health care workforce, behavioral health, psychological resilience, and training of the workforce, as applicable;

(D)

in a manner that allows for disease containment (within the meaning of section 300hh–1(b)(2)(B) of this title), coordinated medical triage, treatment, and transportation of patients, based on patient medical need (including patients in rural areas), to the appropriate hospitals or health care facilities within the regional system or, as applicable and appropriate, between systems in different States or regions; and

(E)

the needs of children and other at-risk individuals;

(2)

make such guidelines available on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services in a manner that does not compromise national security; and

(3)

update such guidelines as appropriate, including based on input received pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) and information resulting from applicable reports required under the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (including any amendments made by such Act), to address new and emerging public health threats.

(c) Considerations

In identifying, developing, and updating guidelines under subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response shall—

(1)

include input from hospitals and health care facilities (including health care coalitions under section 247d–3b of this title), State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments, and health care or subject matter experts (including experts with relevant expertise in chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats, including emerging infectious diseases), as the Assistant Secretary determines appropriate, to meet the goals under section 300hh–1(b)(3) of this title;

(2)

consult and engage with appropriate health care providers and professionals, including physicians, nurses, first responders, health care facilities (including hospitals, primary care clinics, community health centers, mental health facilities, ambulatory care facilities, and dental health facilities), pharmacies, emergency medical providers, trauma care providers, environmental health agencies, public health laboratories, poison control centers, blood banks, tissue banks, and other experts that the Assistant Secretary determines appropriate, to meet the goals under section 300hh–1(b)(3) of this title;

(3)

consider feedback related to financial implications for hospitals, health care facilities, public health agencies, laboratories, blood banks, tissue banks, and other entities engaged in regional preparedness planning to implement and follow such guidelines, as applicable; and

(4)

consider financial requirements and potential incentives for entities to prepare for, and respond to, public health emergencies as part of the regional health care emergency preparedness and response system.

(d) Technical assistance

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, may provide technical assistance and consultation toward meeting the guidelines described in subsection (b).

(e) Demonstration project for regional health care preparedness and response systems
(1) In general

The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response may establish a demonstration project pursuant to the development and implementation of guidelines under subsection (b) to award grants to improve medical surge capacity for all hazards, build and integrate regional medical response capabilities, improve specialty care expertise for all-hazards response, and coordinate medical preparedness and response across State, local, Tribal, territorial, and regional jurisdictions.

(2) Sunset

The authority under this subsection shall expire on September 30, 2023.

Source credit: (July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title III, § 319C–3, as added Pub. L. 116–22, title II, § 203(a), June 24, 2019, 133 Stat. 911.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit
  • 1944Enacted · Pub. L. 116-22 · 133 Stat. 911

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 116-22 on 1944-07-01.

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