Rhode Island Department of Health to receive more than $5M in funding

The Rhode Island Department of Health will receive $5.4 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The bulk of the funding, through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement, will be used to prepare for natural disasters and public health emergencies while approximately $445,000 will be used to improve laboratory and surveillance systems that help track infectious diseases and detect and identify high-priority public health threats.

“These federal funds will help ensure the Rhode Island Department of Health and local hospitals can respond quickly and effectively when a major disaster strikes,” U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees federal funding for HHS programs, said. “It will bolster the state’s capacity to deal with pandemics or deliver treatment to the public in emergencies. Our dedicated hospital workers and emergency responders are our first line of medical defense when disaster strikes. This federal funding will help them coordinate and effectively respond when we need them most.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administers PHEP. Funds are for enhancing hospitals and health care systems’ ability to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies including epidemics, foodborne outbreaks, natural and man-made disasters, and terrorism.