The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, part of HHS, has allocated $37.5 million to award dozens of hospitals grants of up to $500,000 to become or maintain their status as specialized pathogen treatment centers.
Five notes:
1. The grant initiative is meant to strengthen the nation’s response readiness to high-consequence infectious diseases that cause severe illness and carry high mortality rates, such as Ebola or Nipah virus, according to an Oct. 15 news release.
2. Up to 75 hospitals seeking to become or maintain status as a level 2 special pathogen treatment center will be eligible for grants of up to $500,000 to support critical infrastructure, comprehensive staff training and the purchase of specialized equipment.
3. Pathogen treatment center level designations are overseen by the National Special Pathogen System — a federally coordinated, tiered network that organizes hospitals into four levels based on their capacity to care for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases. Level 2 facilities are equipped to treat patients for the duration of illness and are a key part of regional and national surge capacity.
4. Applications for funding are now open and due by Dec. 2. The grant program is coordinated by the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, a federally designated entity that leads training and readiness efforts across the special pathogen system.
5. “By investing in level 2 centers, we build regional surge capacity and develop capabilities with hospitals across the country — not only in major metro areas — to respond rapidly and effectively,” Aneesh Mehta, MD, co-principal investigator of of the NETEC at Atlanta-based Emory University, said in a statement.
