Providers have a new toolkit to help them address the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness following a disaster or public health emergency. The toolkit includes practical tools to help providers coordinate before the emergency as well as tools to respond to and recover from the emergency. The toolkit, created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), is organized around the following themes:
- needs identification and assessment
- prevention of hospital system surge and coordination of care
- medical capacity available for ready mobilization in disasters
- information and education resources
This toolkit is part of a larger interagency toolkit being developed by the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, focused on integrating people experiencing homelessness into disaster response and planning.
Contact Beth Feldpush, DrPH, senior vice president of policy and advocacy, at bfeldpush@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0111 with questions.