A Quick Explanation of How the Stafford Act Affects Emergency Management and Response

american capitol building

This week life as we know it changed drastically, and a presidential declaration significantly changed the federal government’s ability to respond and provide resources for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Friday, President Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency and invoked the Stafford Act or, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988, enabling FEMA to considerably broaden its response capabilities, as well as access up to $50 billion in funds set aside for disaster relief.

While the Department of Health and Human Services already declared coronavirus a public health emergency in January, the president’s Friday declaration of a national emergency under the Stafford Act empowers FEMA to directly assist local and state governments in response and relief activities, helping residents more quickly and efficiently with healthcare, food, shelter, etc.

In a letter to the director of FEMA, and the secretaries of Homeland Security, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, President Trump justified the need to invoke the Stafford Act in this instance, saying

“…only the Federal Government can provide the necessary coordination to address a pandemic of this national size and scope caused by a pathogen introduced into our country.

“It is the preeminent responsibility of the Federal Government to take action to stem a nationwide pandemic that has its origins abroad, which implicates its authority to regulate matters related to interstate matters and foreign commerce and to conduct the foreign relations of the United States.”

Additionally, the president’s declaration removes hindrances or delays by bypassing some existing federal regulations, including portions of Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements that limit healthcare service, as well as federal license requirements that limit where healthcare professionals can work. It also reduces limits on access to telemedicine – allowing the public to receive medical care remotely and removing limits on length of stay and on number of beds at certain hospitals. Hospitals also can now speed up establishing temporary facilities as needed, or bypass limits on facility use to add emergency capacity.

The Stafford Act is historically more often used to respond to natural disasters, like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. It was, however, used during outbreaks of the West Nile virus in the U.S. in 2000.

In addition to natural disasters and public health emergencies, the Stafford Act has also been invoked for response to terrorist incidents including the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the attacks on 9/11, and the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

Most recently, the Stafford Act was used to provide assistance during massive flooding in Nebraska and Iowa in 2019.

All of us at Juvare are committed to assisting our clients, partners and all those on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. If you have any questions about how we can assist with your preparedness and response efforts, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

 

ABOUT JUVARE:
Juvare is a worldwide leader in emergency preparedness and critical incident management and response technology. Juvare solutions empower government agencies, corporations, healthcare facilities, academic institutions, and volunteer organizations to leverage real-time data to manage incidents faster and more efficiently, protecting people, property, and brands.

 

Juvare Helps Partners on the Front Lines of the COVID-19 Pandemic

New Add-on Board in WebEOC Enables Coronavirus Monitoring and Tracking

Public concern about the coronavirus outbreak, or COVID-19, has reached an all-time high as the number of worldwide cases continues to grow exponentially with cases across the United States increasing quickly over the last week.

Now declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and a National Emergency in the U.S. by President Trump, concerns about coronavirus have affected nearly every facet of ordinary life today, with many high profile events being postponed, canceled, or severely altered including sports events – like NBA Basketball and the NCAA College Basketball Championship games, Major League Baseball, and The Masters golf tournament – as well as a number of concerts including C2C, festivals including SXSW, and worldwide conventions including HIMSS.

With the unprecedented changes to public events like these and others, officials hope to avoid close contact by the large numbers of people who would have attended, in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

U.S. public health officials and emergency managers have been working diligently to ensure they have the resources, tools, and solutions needed to be prepared and respond effectively to any incident related to the illness. The sheer enormity of this public health crisis has necessitated the ability to keep track of people, events, supply chains, and many other considerations – by not only public health agencies, but also hospital systems, emergency management agencies, corporations and businesses, schools and higher education institutions, etc.

To assist with this monumental task, Juvare announced the release of an Infectious Disease Community Impact Tracking add-on for the WebEOC platform, at no cost to clients.

Screen shot of Infectious Disease Community Impact Tracking Board in WebEOC

 

The add-on, known as a ‘Board’ in WebEOC, was designed in close collaboration with clients to apply evolving best practices and was released to help our Emergency Management users – in Federal, State, Local, Healthcare, Higher Education, Transportation, and Corporate sectors – monitor, track, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Infectious Disease Community Impact Tracking board is available to current WebEOC users to assist with situational awareness, preparedness, and response, including:

  • Tracking of facility statuses and events related to coronavirus
  • Tracking of coronavirus cases in the U.S., showing the top 25 U.S. cities with coronavirus cases
  • Pertinent airport and travel information updates
  • Twitter monitoring of CDC, WHO, HHS, and CDC Emergency Information
  • Up-to-date numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases, deaths, and recoveries

For an overview video on how the board can assist your organization’s preparedness and response activities, click here.

Current WebEOC subscribers can click here for a free download of the board.

All of us at Juvare are committed to assisting those on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, and supporting preparedness and effective response efforts.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.