ASPR TRACIE releases utility outages resources

Focused on the experiences and lessons learned by health care facilities and systems that endured water and other utility outages because of severe weather, the Department of Health & Human Services issued a new resource to help health care facilities manage water and other utility outages. 

The resource, developed specifically by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR’s) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE), examines how one health system was effected by the long-term water outage in  Jackson, Miss.; how HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball has incorporated lessons learned after 2021’s Winter Storm Uri led to power and water outages in several hospitals in Texas; the significant effect of Hurricane Ian on hospitals in Florida; and how the Northwest Healthcare Response Network worked with hospitals across Seattle and beyond to manage a severe heat event in 2021. 

 These articles emphasize the importance of local, state and regional partnerships, and the need for regular exercises of health care emergency response plans. For additional information see the ASPR TRACIE Issue 17 webpage.