Title
Amendment to the 2012-2013 Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Public Health Emergency Planning (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement with the Health Department to reflect change in healthcare coalition boundaries.
Body
Recommended Action: Approve the amendment and authorize the Chairman to sign.
Background:
The Health Department has received PHEP funding from KDHE for the past eleven years and has utilized those funds to develop, implement and test comprehensive emergency response plans to ensure strategies were developed to meet planning standards of Public Health Preparedness Capabilities. On August 29, 2012, the Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved the PHEP grant award of $343,317 for the period beginning August 30, 2012 through June 30, 2013.
This contract amendment comes at the request of the grantor (KDHE) and clarifies the objectives of the contract for all seven hospital preparedness regions across the state. Some regional coalitions in Kansas misinterpreted certain objectives of the contract. Sedgwick County and its partnership region, however, accurately interpreted the contract with KDHE and set forth a correct work plan to accomplish the intended objectives. As a result, this amendment will not impact Sedgwick County Health Department's operations or finances.
Specifically, this amendment clarifies the healthcare coalition partnerships involved in completing the PHEP work plan and defines the boundaries of the partnership as the "hospital preparedness region."
Analysis:
A portion of this funding is used to develop and refine the public health emergency preparedness plans for Sedgwick County and to exercise those plans. Future plans include an increased emphasis on the regionalization of plans, exercises and utilization of the incident command system.
In Kansas, healthcare coalitions vary throughout the state and include county partnerships. To better coordinate efforts between hospitals, emergency medical personnel and emergency management and to reduce the administrative burden for KDHE, the seven hospital preparedness regions were designated as the coalition for related grant activity.
Sedgwick County has been working with its 19 county hospital preparedness region for many years and this designation does not affect the work of the Sedgwick County public health incident planning and response team.
Alternatives:
Elect not to approve the contract amendment. Not approving the amendment would limit Sedgwick County Health Department's ability to prepare for and respond to public health disasters.
Financial Considerations:
No financial impact is anticipated as a result of the contract amendment.
Legal Considerations: The authority for this action is K.S.A. 19-101, et seq. A simple majority vote is required.
Policy Considerations: