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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

This issue of The Express highlights the following new and updated resources:

• Experiences from the Field: The Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire
• Crisis Standards of Care Resources Page
• Blood and Blood Products Topic Collection

April is National Minority Health Month; our Disasters and Healthcare Disparity Topic Collection can help you understand the role of social determinants in disaster preparedness and response and patient care. It is also Workplace Violence Prevention Awareness Month; we invite you to check out our On-Campus Health Care Facility Armed Assailant Planning Considerations document that can help you prepare your facility to mitigate, respond to, and recover from an active shooter or armed assailant situation. Please reach out to ASPR TRACIE if you need technical assistance.

Experiences from the Field: The Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire 

On the morning of Tuesday, February 7, 2023, a 10-alarm fire broke out at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital in an electrical room, causing an almost immediate failure of the hospital’s electrical system. The hospital safely evacuated 162 patients in coordination with the fire department and was subsequently closed for an extended recovery period. The Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire article supports the Lessons Learned from the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Fire webinar where three leaders who managed the response highlighted successes and challenges of incident command; communications; preparedness and response plans; and patient evacuation, transfers, and tracking during and after the incident.

Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) Resources Page

Our new Crisis Standards of Care Resources Page houses our new Template for Hospital CSC Resource Allocation Annex, CSC Briefs, Medical Operations Coordination Centers materials, and other related resources. 

Blood and Blood Products Topic Collection (Updated) 

The updated Blood and Blood Products Topic Collection provides links to guidance; lessons learned (from disasters, no-notice incidents, and specific to transfusions); plans, tools, and templates; general research; and research specific to the disaster blood supply chain. 

Updates from the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection

ASPR’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) offers a variety of newsletters to keep stakeholders informed during emergency response and steady state. The newsletters inform stakeholders of the most significant issues facing the health care and public health sector, including cybersecurity, health care supply chains, and more. If you are interested in receiving CIP newsletters, visit the CIP newsletter subscription webpage.