ASPR's Response to Hurricane Milton

ASPR Deploys Responders, Medical Supplies and Equipment

As of October 8, 2024, ASPR has deployed more than 125 medical, public health, and disaster response personnel along with medical supplies and equipment to support Florida communities in preparation for Hurricane Milton.

Deployed personnel include experts from an ASPR Incident Management Team and ASPR Regional Emergency Coordinators who are integrating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state health authorities, and emergency response officials to anticipate and assist the state in meeting public health and medical needs.

ASPR also deployed 10 Health Care Situational Assessment Teams (HCSAT) who will work with state officials in assessing the storm’s impacts to hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, and other health care facilities, and ASPR positioned two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) from ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System (NDMS)  for rapid response following assessment findings. Logisticians and security personnel are pre-positioned to support these teams, and additional medical personnel are on alert and ready to deploy if needed.

Increasing Access to Health Care with Increased Flexibility and Data

HHS Secretary Becerra has declared a Public Health Emergency in Florida, making it the second such declaration in less than two weeks. The Public Health Emergency declaration gives the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs of beneficiaries.

In addition, the HHS emPOWER program is available to identify the number of Medicare beneficiaries in affected zips codes who rely on electricity-dependent durable medical equipment and certain healthcare services, such as dialysis, oxygen tank, or home health,

HHS has waived sanctions and penalties for violations of certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule against hospitals in the emergency areas. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued bulletins explaining how limited waivers apply and the duration.

Supporting Behavioral Health

The HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers free crisis counseling through the Disaster Distress Helpline. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.

To connect with a trained counselor, call or text 1-800-985-5990. Spanish speakers can press “2” for bilingual support. Callers also can connect with counselors in more than 100 other languages via third-party interpretation services by indicating their preferred language to the responding counselor.