HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released The National Health Security Strategy, the nation’s first comprehensive strategy focused on protecting patients’ health during a large-scale emergency. The strategy sets priorities for government and non-government activities over the next four years.
According to HHS, national health security means that the nation is prepared for, protected from, and resilient in the face of health threats or incidents with potentially negative health consequences such as bioterrorism and natural disasters. The strategy provides a framework for actions that will build community resilience, strengthen and sustain health emergency response systems, and fill current gaps.
The National Health Security Strategy and the accompanying interim implementation guide outline two major goals and 10 objectives. The major goals are to:
- Build community resilience--a sustained ability for communities to withstand and recover from adversity, such as pandemic, disaster, or attack.
- Strengthen and sustain health and emergency response systems--the systems that help to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from major health incidents.
The plan's 10 objectives detail actions aimed at fostering, empowering, and strengthening:
- communities
- workforces
- situational decision making abilities
- health care delivery resources
- communications capabilities
- medical and non-medical countermeasures
- threat containment capabilities
- post-incident recovery capabilities
- partnerships for international security, and,
- future improvements to the strategy.
Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies, as well as medical, public health and community-based organizations, collaborated to develop the strategy and interim implementation guide.
To obtain a copy of the strategy and implementation guide, visit www.hhs.gov/disasters.
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