The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response awarded $21 million to 13 healthcare facilities to help fight against special pathogens, like COVID-19.
The response was urged by a need to increase readiness to pathogens like Ebola, COVID-19 and Monkeypox, according to an Oct. 24 news release shared with Becker's.
"We are taking this critical step to award new funding to our regional healthcare partners to strengthen the capabilities of their spacial pathogen programs and make our healthcare system better prepared to respond to these infectious diseases," Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Dawn O'Connell, said in the release.
The funds will integrate clinical and healthcare system's operational expertise into existing preparedness and response structures at the regional, state, jurisdiction and local levels.
The selected 13 hospitals are Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers with an enhanced capability to care for highly infectious diseases and serve as regional hubs for the National Special Pathogen System.
ASPR selected three new healthcare facilities to serve as RESPTCs, providing $3 million each to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, District of Columbia; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill; and Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, Mich.. The ten existing RESPTCs received $1.2 million each from the department:
1. Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
2. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation/HHC Bellevue Hospital Center
3. Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland
4. Emory University Hospital and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta/Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta
5. University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis
6. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
7. Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha
8. Denver Health and Hospital Authority
9. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles
10. Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital in Spokane, Wash.