Transformation through Collaboration: Preparing the Health Sector to Protect the Nation
In conjunction with the national recognition of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Awareness during the month of November, the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector facilitated a Virtual Fall Engagement Series to the HPH stakeholder community to share information on lessons learned, best practices developed, emerging innovation, and existing threats being faced. The engagement series offered four virtual sessions highlighting the value of public-private Partnership information sharing and collaboration to enable the Health Sector to protect the Nation. Leaders and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within their field of the HPH community included Federal Senior leaders, Health System Executives, HPH Subsector Association Representatives, and Federal intelligence officers. Available session recordings and resources related to each week’s topic can be found below.
Archived Sessions
Collaborating and Succeeding in the Health Sector
Webinar Date: November 30, 2020
HPH Sector Chairs, Laura Wolf, Director of Critical Infrastructure and Protection in the Office Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Co-Chair of the HPH Sector Government Coordinating Council (GCC) and Michael Wargo, Vice President of Emergency Preparedness at HCA Healthcare, and Acting Chair of the HPH Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) were joined by Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of HHS and Michelle Hood, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of American Hospitals Association to discuss perspectives on how public-private partnerships have supported the successes of their organizations and the Health Sector throughout 2020, and lessons learned. These leaders shared highlights from best practices they have seen develop and their visions of where the Health Sector will develop and innovate in the coming future, and thoughts on how partnerships and collaboration can lead the Health Sector in the 21st century.
Looking to the Future of the Health Sector into 2028
Webinar Date: November 23, 2020
In this future gazing session, industry and public health representatives provided Ignite style discussions of opportunities and challenges faced by the HPH community in the coming years, and considerations that should be incorporated into planning and priorities. The session was moderated by Nicolette Louissaint the Executive Director of Healthcare Ready and Cathy Lester the Executive Director of Health Transformation at Verizon. Panelist included: Tim Jones, the Associate Director of Federal Relations at The Joint Commission: Nicholas Nilan, the Director of Public Sector Product Management at Version: Tonya Saffer, the Head of Government Affairs and Market Access at Outset Medical: Chuck Forsaith, the Vice President of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition: and Dara Lieberman, the Director of Government Relations at the Trust for America’s Health. Panelists discussed best practices for the COVID-19 pandemic, 5G capabilities, innovations in dialysis delivery, strengthening healthcare supply chains, and the need to build equity into preparedness.
Resources:
21st Century Challenges in Critical Health Infrastructure
Webinar Date: November 16, 2020
Senior Federal leadership and industry association representatives provided perspectives on the current threats and challenges being faced by their respective subsectors. Robert Kolasky, the Director of the National Risk Management Center presented on preparing the health sector as the nation moves forward specifically emphasizing the importance of data, supply chains, and underlying infrastructure. Participants also heard from industry leaders including: Leah Mendelsohn Stone, Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy at the American Association of Blood Banks: Marilyn Zigmund Luke, Vice President of America’s Health Insurance Plans; Linda Rouse O’Neill, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Health Industry Distributors Association; and Khatereh Calleja, President and CEO of the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. These industry leaders discussed critical partnerships within the HPH Sector, suggestions for better patient management, and 2021 aspirations for development and growth within the health sector.
Resources:
Critical Functions and Security of the Health Sector including an Unclassified Threat Briefing
Webinar Date: November 9, 2020
| No archived recording available
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) National Risk Management Center (NRMC) shared their current work developing the next iteration of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), which will implement a system-based approach to risk. The NRMC is looking to the HPH sector, and others, to identify the criticality of the different functions in the HPH sector, as well as the interdependent functions that other sectors might support.
CISA is also continuing to engage with sectors to develop strategies to bridge the gap between government and industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided insight on what vulnerabilities exist, but has also provided an opportunity to address resulting issues with fundamental changes in how government and partners perform and react, which will be beneficial post-pandemic for future healthcare success. CISA presented the National Critical Function (NCF) framework as a key strategy, which highlights the cross-sector nature of critical infrastructure. This framework focuses on key assets, systems, and networks that support the NCF, backed by the critical technologies and dependencies that enable them.
DHS's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD)’s Biodefense Division shared the similarities and differences between Biodefense and Biosecurity, and how they apply to the Health Sector. Health sector leadership and collaboration was highlighted as a critical component in maintaining the infrastructure of biosecurity and biodefense, with emphasis on using an integrated multiagency response.
Lastly, CISA Intel provided an unclassified threat brief focused on the HPH sector. A high-level overview of threats was provided in addition to best practices for sectors dealing with threats. Awareness and a continued partnership were highlighted as a key strategy for mitigating threats.
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