Addressing the needs of the uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved population in Maryland: Emergency preparedness planning for community health centers

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) has taken many steps to enhance Maryland's healthcare systems' emergency preparedness efforts. Generally, the focus has been on enhancing the capacities and capabilities of acute care hospitals that will undoubtedly receive the most patients during a disaster or public health event. However, improving the capacities and capabilities of community health centers are equally imperative to address the needs of over 300,000 (5% of Maryland's population) uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved population. DHMH has partnered with Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers (MACHC) to improve the readiness of federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and community health centers with support from the Department of Health and Human Services the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Hospital Preparedness Program. DHMH and MACHC have enhanced the health centers emergency preparedness efforts by coordinating medical surge planning, providing interoperable communications equipment, conducting drills and exercises, participating in emergency preparedness education and training opportunities, as well as equipping the centers with supplies and materials to respond to a potential disaster or public health event. Enhancing these community centers will enable clinicians to address the needs of the non critical uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved in the event of a disaster or public health event. Hence, these individuals will not have to seek medical attention at hospital emergency rooms, decompressing the volume of patients which will allow hospitals to concentrate their resources on the more critically injured patients.