United States Department of

Health & Human ServicesOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

July 14, 2014

Esmeralda PereiraOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and

ResponseU.S. Department of Health and Human Services

NCR Disaster Recovery Seminar:

Health and Social Services

Recovery Support Function

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HHS/ASPR/OEM’s Division of Recovery seeks to advance the Nation’s ability to recover from the health and social services impacts of emergencies and disasters by:

• Coordinating federal health and social services efforts to support communities’ recovery from emergencies and disasters;

• Conducting pre-disaster health and social services recovery planning; and

• Promoting systematic improvements in health and social services recovery planning and operations

Mission and Goals

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• In the National Health Security Strategy (2009), Recovery is highlighted in Strategic Objective 8 – Incorporate post-incident health recovery into planning and response

• HHS is the Coordinating Agency of the Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function under the National Disaster Recovery Framework.

─ The mission of the H&SS RSF is for the federal government to assist locally-led recovery efforts in the restoration of the public health, healthcare and social services networks to promote the resilience, health and well-being of affected individuals and communities.

Recovery in National Doctrine

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Primary: • Department of Homeland Security

• Federal Emergency Management Agency

• National Protection & Programs Directorate

• Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• Corporation for National and Community Service

• Department of Education

• Department of the Interior

• Department of Justice

• Department of Labor

• Environmental Protection Agency

The H&SS RSF has 7 Primary and 7 Supporting Agencies

Supporting: • U.S. Department of Agriculture

• Small Business Administration

• Department of Veterans Affairs

• Department of Transportation

• Department of the Treasury

• American Red Cross

• National Voluntary Organizations in Disaster

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• Public Health• Healthcare Services• Behavioral Health• Environmental Health• Food Safety and Regulated Medical Products• Long-term Responder Health Issues• Social Services• Disaster Case Management/Referral to Social Services • Children in Disasters (including schools)

The H&SS RSF has identified 9 Core Mission Areas

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• Post-Disaster:─ Last formal activation of the RSF was for Hurricane Sandy─ But, also involved in flooding in Colorado, Santa Clara Pueblo;

tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma; California drought; Washington mudslide

• Pre-Disaster:─ H&SS RSF concept of operations─ Regional trainings for federal and non-federal partners─ Cadre development and readiness─ Exercises including the national Capstone exercise in

March/April 2014─ Regional and state planning e.g. Bay Area Catastrophic

Earthquake, Virginia, South Dakota─ HPP grant reviews and technical assistance

Some Recent and Current Activities

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• The National Disaster Recovery Framework comes with no new funding or authorities.

• Different states and communities have used different RSF structures.• Pre-disaster relationships are important in recovery, too. The partners

you’ll need will be broader than in response.• Look for other planning efforts to build on like community health and

preventive health planning.• Health care is a business and often a significant part of the local

economy.• Parents can’t get back to work if their children don’t have a safe,

dependable place to go.• After a disaster, some people will have new or increased needs, and

some people will be accessing services for the first time. Also consider what happens when people are displaced or services are disrupted.

Key Points

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Esmeralda Pereira

Division Director, Recovery, HHS/ASPR/OEM

H&SS RSF National Coordinator

esmeralda.pereira@hhs.gov

202-205-0065

CDR Betty Hastings, USPHS

Region III Recovery Coordinator, HHS/ASPR/OEM

elizabeth.hastings@hhs.gov

202-205-3581

Contact Information