Introduction to the Center

The Center’s mission is to advance health security by building a skilled and resilient workforce, fostering effective cross-sectoral collaboration and communication, and promoting data-driven decision-making. Our efforts are rooted in evidence-based strategies and real-world experience, working in close partnership with practitioners and subject matter experts to identify, build, implement, and promote tailored strategies to bolster regional capacity and capability. Through training, technical assistance, applied research, and workforce development initiatives, we aim to ensure communities across the region are better prepared for future public health emergencies.

The purpose of the Region 6 Center is to better support our public health systems and workforce, build collaborative partnerships, increase integration of evidence-based strategies into our emergency protocols, and leverage decades of practice-based experience and research to improve this region’s readiness for the emergencies of tomorrow.

Stephen Murphy, PhD, MPH, MBA

Director, Region 6 Center for Health Security and Response Readiness

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.

Vision

Enhanced public health emergency preparedness and response infrastructure and systems to address 21st century health security threats within HHS Region 6 and beyond.

Program Background

The Regional Centers for Public Health Preparedness & Response (RCPHPRs) were created with the bipartisan goal of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public health emergency response. The Centers partner with government, nonprofits, and community leaders to identify evidence-based practices, evaluate them, and support jurisdictions across their respective regions in implementing them, ultimately leading to improved practice and better outcomes, and more efficient use of resources in preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, pandemics, and other potential mass emergencies. They epitomize a commitment to securing the health and well-being of Americans. The Centers were initially established through the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act, which was included in the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations Act. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) championed the idea of including the RCPHPRs.
The CDC’s Office of Readiness and Response (ORR), Division of Readiness and Response Science (DRRS) then awarded ten five-year cooperative agreements to one academic institution in each of the ten U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regions. These Regional Centers continue to play an essential role in advancing the uptake of evidence-based strategies and interventions across communities, enhancing their ability to prepare for and respond to public health threats. In addition to the core funding, CDC is supporting efforts for tribal, rural, and frontier communities to disseminate and implement evidence-based strategies and interventions to meet their specific needs. A coordinating partner at one of the institutions provides direct subject area assistance to all centers, and is compiling the evidence discovered for the benefit of all jurisdictions nationally.