Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence: Funding Opportunity Announcement
Children represent 25 percent of the U.S. population and face specialized medical issues due to their unique developmental and physiologic characteristics. When disaster strikes, minimizing the impacts of children’s exposure to infectious diseases, trauma, and other hazards is a challenge for healthcare facilities and stresses the ability of the healthcare system as a whole to respond. Pediatric care requires specialized equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals that may not be readily available in an emergency.
While pediatric hospitals provide excellent care for children on a day-to-day basis, a national system is needed that is able to manage the overwhelming and unique medical needs of children after disasters that goes beyond the highly capable system of care available on a daily basis.
On June 28, 2019, ASPR issued the
Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support the creation of up to two Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence (COE) that will serve as pilot sites.
During a disaster or emergency, healthcare delivery capacity and capabilities can become compromised. These pilot projects are intended to define the delivery of pediatric clinical care when existing systems are stressed or overwhelmed by enhancing rapid sharing of expertise and assets throughout the state or region. Under this pilot project, recipients will ensure that a well-trained cohort of highly specialized pediatric clinical care providers are available for onsite care and remote consultation. Recipients must ensure that the needs of all pediatric patient populations, including children with special health care needs, and their parents and caregivers are considered and integrated.
This FOA funds demonstration projects to help identify issues, develop best practices, and demonstrate the potential effectiveness and viability of this concept. COEs will be expected to develop and/or improve their capability and capacity to provide highly specialized care to pediatric patients within and outside their own region through the pursuit of the objectives of this announcement. Recipients should have existing pediatric preparedness capabilities and the capacity to manage pediatric patients within their own state and within a self-defined multi-state region during a disaster.
To learn more, see the
full-text version of the Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence Funding Opportunity Announcement and the
Frequently Asked Questions.
Pre-Application Teleconference
On July 23, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, ASPR hosted a pre-application teleconference for participants to ask questions about the Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence Funding Opportunity Announcement and application process.
