Mid-January budget cuts to HHS' Hospital Preparedness Program could have significant effects on capacity for emergency departments in public health emergencies, according to a report from Emergency Management.
The cuts, which reduced funding to the program by nearly 30 percent, have the potential to reduce staffing and resources to EDs through reduced grant dollars, which in turn could reduce ED capacity to levels that can't meet a surge in patient volumes caused by an event requiring triage, such as a natural disaster, bombing or shooting.
In particular, this capacity reduction may be a result of cuts to medical surge staff and public health preparedness staff, in addition to lack of HHS-funded emergency preparedness training for full-time ED staff leading to less efficient care, according to the report.
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