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A service for pharmaceutical industry professionals · Friday, March 29, 2024 · 699,728,505 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

HHS Secretary Azar Declares Public Health Emergency for State of Florida Due to Hurricane Dorian

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar today declared a public health emergency for the state in preparation for Hurricane Dorian and following President Trump’s emergency declaration for the state of Florida. The declaration gives the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) beneficiaries and their healthcare providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs in disasters.

“Hurricane Dorian has grown to be an extremely dangerous storm, posing a significant threat to health and safety,” Secretary Azar said. “This declaration will help ensure that Floridians who rely on Medicare and Medicaid have continuous access to the care they need in the days after this storm makes landfall.”

In declaring the public health emergency and authorizing flexibilities for CMS beneficiaries, Secretary Azar acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to August 28, 2019.

HHS also staged personnel from the National Disaster Medical System and an Incident Management Team, along with caches of medical equipment, so these assets are available quickly to help health authorities and healthcare facilities respond to medical needs. HHS has additional personnel available from the National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps to assist, if needed.

To help meet the needs of vulnerable populations, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and CMS are collaborating with the Florida Department of Health to provide data that the health department can use to assist Medicare beneficiaries who rely on electrically powered medical equipment, such as oxygen concentrators or wheelchairs, and home health services.

CMS also activated the Kidney Community Emergency Response Program to monitor dialysis access and needs of these facilities after the hurricane makes landfall. Through a CMS contract, this program provides technical assistance to End Stage Renal Disease Networks, kidney organizations, and other groups to ensure timely and efficient disaster preparedness, response and recovery for the kidney community.

To assist residents in the impacted area in coping with the stress of the disasters, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration activated the Disaster Distress Helpline. The helpline provides immediate 24/7, 365-days-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions after a disaster. Residents in affected areas can call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 (for Spanish, press 2 or text Hablanos to 66746) to connect with a trained crisis counselor.

The Food and Drug and Administration’s current assessments have identified more than 12,000 FDA-regulated industries across all regulated product areas in Florida that may be impacted by this storm. FDA will continue to work with firms that produce critical medical products to help prevent any shortages resulting from the hurricane. Additionally, FDA recently updated its resources for food and animal food producers in Florida, as well as other states in the path of the storm.

HHS divisions will continue closely monitoring weather conditions arising from Hurricane Dorian and making detailed, practical information available to help the public protect themselves from threats before, during, and after the storm’s landfall. This information includes preventing carbon monoxide poisoning, unsafe food, water and medications, mold, and other health risks.

Guidance and other resources to assist in addressing such health hazards and risks are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) online and through CDC’s information service, CDC-INFO. Live agents provide up-to-date science-based health information. CDC-INFO can be reached Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or by submitting a web-based form. Services are available in English and Spanish.

Public health and safety information for Hurricane Dorian can be found on the HHS emergency website, https://www.phe.gov/dorian.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Public service announcements in multiple formats and languages are available for download for broadcast or website use and provide tips on protecting health and safety before, during and immediately after hurricanes.

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