Region 6 Center for Health Security & Response Readiness | Region 6 Center for Health Security & Response Readiness

REGION 6 CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY

AND RESPONSE READINESS

OUR MISSION

Strengthen operational response to and crisis leadership for health security threats by leveraging the evidence base and working with real-world practitioners to develop resources and serve as a force multiplier across HHS Region 6 and the nation. 

Welcome to the Region 6 Center for Health Security and Response Readiness (CHSRR), a CDC-funded center supporting public health emergency preparedness across Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and our tribal jurisdictions. Through collaborative, applied research and technical assistance, our work equips health departments and ESF-8 partners with evidence-based tools and resources needed to meet today’s most pressing health security challenges.

Health Security News

NOAA predicts above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season

Above-average Atlantic Ocean temperatures set the stage

All international travelers should get measles vaccinations, CDC says

U.S. health officials have changed their advice to international travelers about measles, saying that Americans should be vaccinated against the virus no matter where they’re going.

H5N1 avian flu strikes another Arizona layer farm

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed a third H5N1 avian flu outbreak at a large layer farm in Arizona, affecting nearly 1.4 million birds.

Region 6 Population Profile

Population: 38.4 million (CISA)
Spans 546,498 miles across 503 counties & parishes; 68 tribal and Pueblo nations (CISA)
3 major metropolitan areas with more than 2 million people; 8 cities exceeding 300,000. (CISA)
68 federally recognized tribes representing over 25% of the nation’s Indigenous communities (750,000) (OASH)
1,002 Health Profession Shortage Areas (HRSA)

Region 6 Threat Profile

In 2024, Region 6 impacted by 45 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters totaling nearly $30 billion (NOAA)
Over half (54%) of Region 6 governmental public health workforce has tenure of less than 5 years (PH WINS, 2024)
One quarter (25.9%) of Region 6 governmental public health workforce intends to leave or retire in the next year (PH WINS, 2024)
9% of R6 governmental public health employees experience some level of burnout; 19.7% have constant burnout symptoms (PH WINS, 2024)
2nd highest release of toxics released from 3,206 TRI facilities (EPA)
157 Super Fund sites (EPA)

Learn more about CHSRR

Meet Our Center’s Dedicated Team

What The Center Does

Explore Our Current Initiatives

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