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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:

• Healthcare Workplace Violence Speaker Series
• Volunteer Management Topic Collection (Updated)
• Veterinary Issues Topic Collection (Updated)
• Hot Spots: Reflecting on the Summer of 2023

Many of our stakeholders are recovering from the effects of Hurricane Beryl and preparing for an above normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Our Hurricane Resources Page houses helpful resources like After the Flood: Mold-Specific Resources and Tips for Retaining and Caring for Staff after a Disaster. Please reach out to ASPR TRACIE if you need technical assistance.

Healthcare Workplace Violence Speaker Series

Workplace safety affects all healthcare staff, patients, and visitors. ASPR TRACIE recently added two new recordings to our Workplace Violence Speaker Series:



• An Overview of the Healthcare Facility Armed Assailant Planning Considerations document, where we provide an overview of the resource designed to help healthcare planners help prepare their facilities to mitigate, respond to, and recover from an active shooter or armed assailant situation on campus.
• Active Assailant Planning Consideration Review, where Doug Johnsen, CEM, shares his experiences working with our resource in his work as the manager of Emergency Management at Froedtert Health in Wisconsin. 

Volunteer Management Topic Collection (Updated)

During large-scale disasters or extended health emergencies, healthcare facilities may need to augment their teams (often with volunteers) to continue to provide patient care or support patient care services. The resources in the Volunteer Management Topic Collection include strategies, legal information, and planning templates to assist healthcare facilities with incorporating volunteers into their disaster management plans. The updated version includes new categories dedicated to Medical Reserve Corps experiences from the field and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Veterinary Issues Topic Collection (Updated) 

Many watched in sorrow as residents affected by Hurricane Katrina refused to evacuate their flooded homes because they did not want to leave their pets behind. Since then, wildfires and droughts have ravaged hundreds of thousands of acres across the western U.S., and farmers have lost countless heads of livestock and acres of hay and feed corn. The updated Veterinary Issues Topic Collection contains related resources in addition to articles on zoonotic pathogens originating in animals (e.g., avian influenza) that pose a risk to wild animals, agricultural animals, food sources, pets, and people who encounter them.

Hot Spots: Reflecting on the Summer of 2023  

Wildfires and extreme heat incidents in the U.S. have become more frequent over the past several years. Stakeholders can access the information and resources listed in Hot Spots: Reflecting on the Summer of 2023 to bolster related planning and response efforts.  

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 healthcare and public health sector, including cybersecurity, healthcare supply chains, and more. If you are interested in receiving CIP newsletters, visit the CIP newsletter subscription webpage.