Emergency Preparedness Plan

Compiled in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies, the information in this toolkit is meant to help rural areas better prepare for public health emergencies, disasters and threats.

Planning ahead will help older adults get ready for severe weather and natural disasters. Putting together an emergency kit can help vulnerable older adults stay comfortable during extreme weather events. Print out this resource, from the National Institute on Aging, to give to people who will benefit from having an emergency kit at the ready.

On February 7, 2023, a fire at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital in Massachusetts required an evacuation of the hospital, continued closure and extensive recovery efforts. This webinar addresses lessons learned in responding to that disaster. Hospital representatives also discuss their successes and challenges and how to collaborate with local, state and regional partners.

Utility failures can cause substantial harm to patients, health care providers and the facilities in which they work. Planned outages can relieve stress on services and prevent other hazards, such as cyber sabotage. These tip sheets can assist health care facility managers and emergency planners plan for and respond to various types of utility failures.

Health care provider shortages have historically challenged managing patient surge during disasters. This challenge was made even greater during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Climate change has created new public health challenges. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created a website to provide information that can help health care providers and others take action to protect the health and well being of all people, especially those most vulnerable.

Training overview of implementation of the CDC comprehensive preparedness checklist for COVID-19, particularly in rural settings

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is assessing its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the health care system is prepared for addressing future emergencies. Visit the CMS website for details of what CMS calls "a cross-cutting initiative" to streamline the process used to reestablish health and safety standards. CMS will identify barriers and opportunities for improvement using a health equity lens.

With the nearest hospital more than an hour away, the local community health center in rural Jackman, Maine struggled to offer 24/7 care thanks to staffing and budgetary challenges. To help, Penobscot Community Health Care and other stakeholders created a new program that allows paramedics to staff the clinic and provide care after-hours and on weekends.

The resources on this webpage can help stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad prepare for and respond to fires and other disasters. 

This national network of clinical care teams can provide expert medical advice and COVID surge support using network enabled mobile devices. Critical care experts from around the country can assist with e-consults, remote home monitoring, relief coverage, tiered staffing, and specialty services. Applications for such assistance are accepted on an ongoing basis.

The AARP worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to produce this toolkit to help community leaders improve emergency planning and better address the needs of older adults when a disaster occurs. Download the toolkit and other free publications from the AARP Livable Communities Library.

Emergency preparedness for people with diabetes includes building a “diabetes kit.” The Diabetes Disaster Response Coalition (DDRC) has created guidelines for building such a kit. Included is a checklist of important information to keep in the kit, as well as a list of extra supplies that people with diabetes should always have on hand.

The CAH Quality Prioritization Tool was developed to assist critical access hospital (CAH) quality and patient safety leaders in making decisions related to patient safety and quality investments. The CAH Quality Prioritization Tool is ideally incorporated into an annual quality and patient safety planning process and is most accurate when completed as an exercise by a team including leaders and patient care representatives.

State Flex Profiles showcase the meaningful activities that are carried out by State Offices of Rural Health around the country while supporting critical access hospitals and their communities.

Watch the first of a three-part webinar series on rural emergency preparedness. The webinar features four panelists who share tips on how to collaborate and form partnerships in their communities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated the Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid participating health care providers and suppliers in March 2021. Download this two-page document to learn about the specific requirements for your health care facility.

Download this fact sheet from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to read more about updated emergency preparedness guidance for health care facilities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to make it easier for U.S. health care providers to request TPOXX (also called tecovirimat), an antiviral drug that can be used under special circumstances to treat patients with monkeypox. The CDC recently posted information clarifying the current TPOXX ordering process.