Healthcare Ready’s report to Congress, Protecting National Public Health Care Infrastructure for the Next Disaster, provides greater funding to a variety of public health preparedness and response programs so local jurisdictions, public health, and federal programs for public health preparedness have the resources they need to meaningfully work with communities and incorporate an equity lens in their work. jurisdictions, public health, and federal programs for public health preparedness have the resources they need to meaningfully work with communities and incorporate an equity lens in their work.

The report, , makes specific, straightforward recommendations to Congress and federal agencies to help ensure that the nation is prepared and equipped to respond to the next public health emergency.

The recommendations are based on an evaluation of current preparedness and response programs and activities authorized by the Public Health Service Act and later amendments. Launched in 2019, the evaluation includes lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as prior public health emergencies.

Findings include the need to:

• Improve communication and coordination across all stakeholders in preparedness and response, including public and private sector entities; federal agencies involved in healthcare preparedness and response; and federally funded programs and/or offices and recipients (or subrecipients) of federal cooperative agreements. Efforts in this area must include defining roles and responsibilities across agencies and programs, improving bidirectional information sharing, and strengthening partnerships across agencies and sectors.
• Strengthen accountability by setting targets for all program goals and benchmarks for all standards of Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) Cooperative Agreements and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreements; and ensure monitoring and evaluation of progress with transparent reporting of results.
• Strengthen efforts to apply an equity lens to public health and healthcare preparedness and response by enhancing community engagement; addressing health-related social needs; and conducting research that will build the capacity of resources that support individuals with access and functional needs.
• Increase funding for federal preparedness and response to strengthen national and regional capabilities, help to achieve better outcomes after disasters, and contribute to ensuring our nation’s health security against future public health threats.