Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence | EP U3R 19 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for EP U3R 19 002

The Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence funding opportunity is a Department of Health and Human Services program run through the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to strengthen how the U.S. healthcare system cares for children during major public health emergencies and disasters. The core premise is that children make up about a quarter of the population but are not simply "small adults" in a crisis: they have distinct developmental and physiologic needs, require pediatric-specific equipment and medication formulations, and often need clinicians with specialized pediatric expertise. While pediatric hospitals generally deliver strong everyday care, disasters and mass casualty events can overwhelm normal referral patterns and surge capacity, exposing persistent gaps in pediatric disaster readiness.

The opportunity focuses on closing the most challenging readiness gaps, especially in highly specialized domains where the stakes and complexity are high. These include pediatric trauma care at scale, response to emerging infectious diseases, pediatric management of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) exposures, and pediatric behavioral health needs that may spike during and after catastrophic events. ASPR frames this announcement as one piece of a broader multi-year strategy to improve pediatric disaster care nationwide by building on what already exists in states and regions rather than starting from scratch.

Funding is intended to establish up to two Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence (COEs) as pilot or demonstration sites for what ASPR calls a Regional Pediatric Disaster Care Network (the Network). The Network concept is a tiered, coordinated regional system designed to keep pediatric care functioning when normal systems break down, such as when hospitals are damaged, transportation routes are disrupted, intensive care beds are saturated, or staffing is limited. Rather than replacing existing pediatric hospitals, Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) programs, or healthcare coalitions, the Network is meant to connect and strengthen them by improving coordination, clarifying roles and pathways for pediatric disaster care, and ensuring that expertise and resources can move quickly across local, state, and multi-state lines.

A central goal is to make it easier to rapidly share assets and specialized expertise across a state and a self-defined multi-state region during catastrophic events. That includes ensuring access to highly specialized pediatric providers who can deploy for onsite care when needed, and who can also provide remote consultation to support facilities that do not routinely manage complex pediatric cases. The program also emphasizes planning for all pediatric patient populations, including children with special health care needs, and recognizes that parents and caregivers are part of pediatric disaster care operations and must be considered in planning and response.

Importantly, this announcement is not designed to fully build the entire Regional Pediatric Disaster Care Network nationwide in one step. Instead, it funds a limited number of demonstration projects intended to surface practical implementation issues, develop and test best practices, and show whether the Network model is effective and scalable. The COEs are expected to use the project period to develop and/or improve their ability to deliver highly specialized pediatric care both within their own region and beyond it during disasters, effectively serving as test beds that can inform broader national adoption later.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary cooperative agreement under the disaster prevention and relief category (CFDA 93.889). ASPR anticipated making two awards, with an award ceiling of $3,000,000. The opportunity (EP-U3R-19-002) was posted June 28, 2019, with an original closing date of August 27, 2019. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with details provided in the full eligibility section of the announcement, but the narrative strongly implies that successful applicants would already have meaningful pediatric preparedness infrastructure and demonstrated capacity to manage pediatric patients during disasters across their state and a defined multi-state region. In practice, the program is aimed at mature pediatric-capable institutions and partners that can move quickly from planning to demonstration and can credibly coordinate across multiple jurisdictions and systems of care.

Overall, the grant is about creating regional pediatric disaster leaders that can formalize coordination, strengthen specialized clinical surge capabilities, and prove a scalable model for maintaining pediatric care delivery when disasters disrupt normal healthcare operations. ASPR also signals that future elements of its longer-term vision may include expanded field equipment, mobile medical facilities, telemedicine capabilities, and a broader training and education network, with these COE pilots serving as foundational building blocks for that larger national approach.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the disaster prevention and relief sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.889.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 27, 2019 No Explanation. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EP U3R 19 002

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