Opportunity Information: Apply for EP HIT 21 003
The FY 2021 Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number EP HIT 21 003) is a cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, specifically the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). It was created in response to repeated lessons from major disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic: even well-prepared communities can quickly become overwhelmed when a crisis disrupts normal health care operations, stretches staffing and supplies, and forces hospitals to manage sudden spikes in patient volume. The overall purpose of the program is to close persistent gaps in disaster health care delivery by building a more unified, scalable, and clinically grounded system that can operate across state lines and across a broad region when local capacity is exceeded.
At the center of the opportunity is ASPR's RDHRS model, described as a tiered regional system that strengthens and connects existing health care and emergency response assets rather than replacing them. The idea is to bring the operational expertise of health care systems, including hospitals and specialty care networks, directly into existing preparedness and response structures at local, state, and regional levels. This approach is meant to improve disaster readiness across the health care system as a whole, expand medical surge capacity, and ensure access to specialty services that become critical in large-scale events, including trauma care, burn care, and infectious disease management. In practical terms, the RDHRS concept is meant to help regions coordinate clinical strategy and resource movement during catastrophic events, so care delivery can continue even when normal systems are strained or broken.
The RDHRS is designed to complement and build on the Medical Surge Capacity and Capability (MSCC) foundation and other established local or sub-state medical response structures, such as trauma systems and Health Care Coalitions (HCCs). HCCs are partnerships that typically bring together hospitals, emergency medical services, public health, and emergency management so they can plan together and coordinate during emergencies within a local area. This funding opportunity emphasizes that RDHRS sites should not disrupt these local mechanisms; instead, RDHRS is meant to add a higher level of coordination and capability at the statewide and regional tiers. That includes improving coordination mechanisms across jurisdictions, integrating specific clinical and administrative capabilities that are difficult to sustain locally, and strengthening the ability to operate across multiple states when a disaster footprint is broad.
A key point in the program description is that RDHRS is not intended to alter everyday patient referral patterns or routine health care delivery. Under normal circumstances, patients should still flow through the usual networks. The RDHRS is meant for exceptional situations where catastrophic events overwhelm existing referral patterns and the health care system's baseline capacity and capabilities. In those moments, the RDHRS framework helps define how clinical care should be delivered when the region must take extraordinary measures, such as redistributing patients across a wider geography, importing resources from outside the affected area, or applying resource utilization guidelines when demand outpaces supply. This reflects a focus on crisis-scale operations: keeping care organized, clinically appropriate, and ethically grounded when the usual playbook no longer works.
The opportunity also highlights several core regional functions RDHRS sites are expected to support. These include building surge capacity at statewide and regional levels, strengthening situational awareness (so decision-makers can understand real-time conditions across facilities and jurisdictions), developing readiness metrics (so the system can measure preparedness in concrete ways), and running capability testing exercises (so plans are validated under realistic conditions rather than assumed to work on paper). The broader intent is to mature multi-state partnerships and incorporate industry and government assets into a single, integrated regional approach, creating a more coherent disaster health care system that can scale rapidly and provide specialized clinical support during major disasters or public health emergencies.
From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, meaning the federal agency typically remains substantially involved in the funded work compared to a standard grant. The CFDA number listed is 93.817, and the funding activity category is Health. The posting lists an award ceiling of $3,000,000 and an expectation of one award. The opportunity was posted on August 18, 2021, with an original closing date of September 20, 2021. Eligibility is noted as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," indicating that applicants would need to consult the full announcement for the specific eligible entity types and any required partnership or regional structure.
In summary, this grant opportunity is about building a regional, tiered disaster health response capability that links and strengthens what already exists locally through HCCs and trauma systems, while adding the coordination, specialty care integration, and multi-state operational capacity needed for truly large-scale emergencies. The program aims to make health care delivery more resilient under extreme stress by improving regional planning, shared awareness, surge strategy, and tested operational readiness, without interfering with normal health care referral patterns except when a catastrophic event forces the system into extraordinary response mode.Apply for EP HIT 21 003
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2021 Regional Disaster Health Response System" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.817.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 18, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 20, 2021 No Explanation. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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FAQs: FY 2021 Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS) Cooperative Agreement (EP-HIT-21-003)
What is the RDHRS grant opportunity?
The FY 2021 Regional Disaster Health Response System (RDHRS) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number EP-HIT-21-003) is a federal cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). It is focused on strengthening how health care delivery functions during major disasters and public health emergencies when normal systems become overwhelmed.
Which federal agency is offering this funding?
The opportunity is offered by HHS ASPR (Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response).
What type of funding instrument is this?
This is a cooperative agreement. Unlike a typical grant, a cooperative agreement generally means the federal agency is expected to be substantially involved in the funded work.
What is the overall purpose of the RDHRS program?
The overall purpose is to close persistent gaps in disaster health care delivery by building a unified, scalable, clinically grounded regional system that can operate across state lines when local health care capacity is exceeded during catastrophic events.
Why was this program created?
The program was created in response to repeated lessons from major disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed that even well-prepared communities can quickly become overwhelmed when crises disrupt normal health care operations, strain staffing and supplies, and cause sudden spikes in patient volume.
What is the RDHRS model in plain terms?
ASPR describes RDHRS as a tiered regional system that strengthens and connects existing health care and emergency response assets rather than replacing them. The model aims to bring operational health care expertise (including hospitals and specialty networks) into preparedness and response structures at local, state, and regional levels.
Does RDHRS replace local Health Care Coalitions (HCCs) or trauma systems?
No. The opportunity emphasizes that RDHRS sites should not disrupt local mechanisms like Health Care Coalitions (HCCs), trauma systems, and other local or sub-state medical response structures. RDHRS is meant to build on and complement what already exists, while adding statewide and regional coordination and capabilities that are hard to sustain locally.
How does RDHRS relate to Health Care Coalitions (HCCs)?
HCCs are local partnerships (often involving hospitals, EMS, public health, and emergency management) that plan and coordinate within a local area. RDHRS is intended to add a higher tier of coordination above that local level, especially for multi-jurisdiction and multi-state events.
How does RDHRS relate to Medical Surge Capacity and Capability (MSCC)?
The RDHRS is designed to complement and build on the MSCC foundation. It is positioned as a way to strengthen coordination and capabilities at broader tiers (statewide and regional), especially when an incident exceeds local capacity.
What problems is RDHRS trying to solve during catastrophic events?
The program targets the kinds of breakdowns that can happen when normal health care operations are disrupted, including overwhelmed facilities, staffing and supply strain, and the need to manage large surges in patient volume. It also focuses on improving regional coordination so care delivery can continue even when routine systems are strained or broken.
Will RDHRS change everyday patient referral patterns or routine care?
No. A key point is that RDHRS is not intended to alter everyday patient referral patterns or routine health care delivery. Under normal circumstances, patients should continue to flow through usual networks.
When is RDHRS intended to be used?
RDHRS is meant for exceptional situations where catastrophic events overwhelm existing referral patterns and baseline capacity and capabilities. In those circumstances, the RDHRS framework supports extraordinary coordination and operations to keep care clinically appropriate and organized.
What kinds of extraordinary measures does RDHRS anticipate during catastrophic events?
The description includes examples such as redistributing patients across a wider geography, importing resources from outside the affected area, and applying resource utilization guidelines when demand outpaces supply.
What are some specialty care areas RDHRS aims to support during large-scale events?
The opportunity highlights specialty services that can become critical during major disasters, including trauma care, burn care, and infectious disease management.
What core regional functions are RDHRS sites expected to support?
The opportunity highlights several expected functions: building surge capacity at statewide and regional levels, strengthening situational awareness across facilities and jurisdictions, developing readiness metrics, and running capability testing exercises to validate plans under realistic conditions.
What does "situational awareness" mean in the context of this program?
In this context, situational awareness refers to strengthening the ability of decision-makers to understand real-time conditions across facilities and jurisdictions, supporting better regional coordination during emergencies.
What are "readiness metrics" in the context of RDHRS?
Readiness metrics are described as ways to measure preparedness in concrete terms, rather than relying only on assumptions that plans will work.
What is meant by "capability testing exercises"?
Capability testing exercises are described as exercises intended to validate plans under realistic conditions, helping ensure regional disaster health response approaches function in practice, not just on paper.
Does the program emphasize multi-state coordination?
Yes. A core theme is strengthening the ability to operate across multiple states when the disaster footprint is broad, including improving coordination mechanisms across jurisdictions.
How does the program describe the role of existing assets?
Rather than creating a new system from scratch, RDHRS is described as strengthening and connecting existing health care and emergency response assets, and integrating industry and government assets into an integrated regional approach.
What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed is 93.817.
What is the funding activity category?
The funding activity category is Health.
What is the award ceiling?
The posting lists an award ceiling of $3,000,000.
How many awards were expected?
The posting indicates an expectation of one award.
When was the opportunity posted and when was it due?
The opportunity was posted on August 18, 2021. The original closing date listed was September 20, 2021.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." Based on the posting summary provided here, applicants would need to consult the full announcement for the specific eligible entity types and any required partnership or regional structure.
What is the main takeaway of this funding opportunity?
The main focus is building a regional, tiered disaster health response capability that links and strengthens local systems (including HCCs and trauma systems) while adding coordination, specialty care integration, surge strategy, shared awareness, and tested multi-state readiness for truly large-scale emergencies, without changing routine care patterns except during catastrophic response conditions.
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