New program helps rural facilities prepare for disasters and safely shelter in place

The University of Georgia Institute for Disaster Management (IDM) has been awarded $3.735M to help harden rural hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and in-patient hospice in Georgia against disasters.

Through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is investing in rural health initiatives across the country. This nation-wide initiative includes state-specific programs, including Georgia’s Rural Enhancement and Transformation of Health (GREAT Health) Program, led by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and supported by CMS.

This IDM-led project is one of nearly 30 initiatives funded through GREAT Health to strengthen rural healthcare throughout the state. Named the Rural Healthcare Facility Resilience Program, the initiative addresses one of the most difficult decisions rural healthcare facilities face during disasters: Will they shelter in place or evacuate?

“Rural healthcare facilities are lifelines for their communities, but disasters can disrupt the power, water, and other critical infrastructure they need to protect the health and safety of the patients and residents who depend on these facilities,” said Morgan Taylor, director of IDM and primary investigator on the project.

Evacuating vulnerable patients is expensive, risky, and logistically complex. When possible, sheltering in place is recommended to reduce unnecessary transfers and patient distress.

This program aims to help rural facilities expand their ability to safely shelter in place and, when appropriate, increase their capacity to receive evacuees from other facilities who cannot safely shelter in place.

Through this program, IDM will partner with engineering firms to conduct infrastructure assessments at eligible facilities across Georgia. These assessments go beyond regulatory surveys to address things a facility needs to safely continue caring for patients or residents during disasters.

During each site visit, the trained assessment teams will evaluate critical systems that support a facility’s ability to operate during prolonged power outages and other disaster scenarios.

Then, facilities will receive a detailed, actionable report identifying vulnerabilities, observations from the assessment visit, and recommended priorities for resilience investments, which they can then use to apply for grant funding through the GREAT Health Program.

“This program is an opportunity to make investments that rural healthcare facilities may have needed for years but haven’t always had the resources to make,” said Taylor.

This program comes at a time of increasing frequency of severe weather and a growing emphasis on rural resiliency.

Statewide, this program hopes to support hundreds of facilities and the thousands of Georgians who rely on them for care.

IDM’s combined years of knowledge and expertise in disaster resilience and healthcare preparedness uniquely position the team to support facilities throughout this process.

This initiative will ensure that rural healthcare facilities remain sustainable access points for care by improving their ability to operate during disasters, thereby supporting continuity of healthcare services and reducing the likelihood of high-cost and high-risk evacuations.

“Our goal for this program is to give rural healthcare facilities the resources to address vulnerabilities before they become crises,” said Taylor. “When the next disaster comes, we want more facilities to be able to continue providing care safely in their own communities.”

Written by Erin Mumper

The GREAT Health Program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $218,862,169.63 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.