PAHPA And Disaster Response

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) have used authority under the Pandemic & All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) to assist healthcare providers responding to public health emergencies in the wake of multiple natural disasters.

Hurricanes

Following the landfall of Hurricane Laura in August 2020, ASPR deployed the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to provide temporary emergency medical services at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital in southwest Louisiana.

After Hurricane Ian struck Florida in September 2022, NDMS providers treated a total of 3,802 Floridians. In one example, a team of medical professionals set up 10 tents in 36 hours to create a stand-alone medical site outside the Peace River North Port Rehabilitation Center in Sarasota County, Florida.

After the landfall of Hurricane Helene in September 2024, ASPR mobilized resources to maintain the supply of IV saline solution after production was disrupted at a major manufacturing facility in North Cove, North Carolina.

Wildfires

ASPR and NDMS supported healthcare providers in the wake of the Lahaina Wildfire in Hawaii (August 2023), the Calf Canyon & Hermits Peak Wildfires in New Mexico (April 2022), the Almeda Drive & Santiam Wildfires in Oregon (September 2020), and the Lightning Siege Wildfires in Northern California (August 2020).

HHS declared a public health emergency to activate NDMS following the Palisades and Eaton fires in southern California in January 2025.

Floods

After flash floods struck Eastern Kentucky in July 2022, a public health emergency enabled ASPR to support EMS and first responders across 13 impacted counties.

Tornadoes

A mobile field hospital was set up at Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital in Rolling Fork, Mississippi following the declaration of a public health emergency in response to tornadoes that struck northern Mississippi in March 2023.