PR gets $19M for health preparedness
By CB Online Staff
Puerto Rico is getting a $19 million funding shot under U.S. Health & Human Services Department efforts to improve preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats around the nation.
Some $11.8 million of the money assigned for Puerto Rico is earmarked for improving medical response capacity and preparing hospitals for public health emergencies.
Another $4.9 million will be split by island government agencies for emergency preparation, $2.8 million is for security strategies implementation and $655,000 is for Operation Stonegarden, a joint effort between the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol and the Puerto Rico Police Department.
The funds also include $32,000 for security at the Port of the Americas in Ponce.
“We must be alert and these federal funds shore up our preparations,” Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi said.
The funding includes $50,000 to train medical and public health graduate students at the University of Puerto Rico.
HHS has awarded more than $971 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
“Health care and public health systems that are prepared to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from all hazards are also able to deliver services more effectively and efficiently every day,” said Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response. “Having systems in place to provide better treatment for disaster survivors and improved public health for our communities also leads to better health outcomes on a day-to-day basis.”
The funding awards included a total of approximately $352 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $619 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.
Issued : Wednesday, July 4, 2012 08:05 AM
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=73625&ct_id=1&ct_name=1
Another $4.9 million will be split by island government agencies for emergency preparation, $2.8 million is for security strategies implementation and $655,000 is for Operation Stonegarden, a joint effort between the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol and the Puerto Rico Police Department.
The funds also include $32,000 for security at the Port of the Americas in Ponce.
“We must be alert and these federal funds shore up our preparations,” Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi said.
The funding includes $50,000 to train medical and public health graduate students at the University of Puerto Rico.
HHS has awarded more than $971 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
“Health care and public health systems that are prepared to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from all hazards are also able to deliver services more effectively and efficiently every day,” said Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response. “Having systems in place to provide better treatment for disaster survivors and improved public health for our communities also leads to better health outcomes on a day-to-day basis.”
The funding awards included a total of approximately $352 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $619 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.
Issued : Wednesday, July 4, 2012 08:05 AM
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=73625&ct_id=1&ct_name=1
