HAP's Latest News

A bill giving the Pennsylvania National Guard the ability to assist with the planning of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution is heading to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk for approval.

Twenty-twenty was an incredibly difficult year for everyone. Just weeks into the year—on January 27—the HAP emergency management (EM) team activated for the COVID-19 event. As we approach the anniversary of our activation, and look back on the year that was, we see the ways that COVID-19 changed how we do things, as well as some essential lessons that will guide us as we plan for future emergencies.

While emergency departments effectively triage patients, all patients—including those requiring behavioral health services—often face long delays in finding post-acute services. For patients in need of behavioral health services, these delays are often due to inpatient and outpatient treatment capacity issues.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a large number of Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA). The FDA uses its EUA authority to strengthen the response during public health emergencies. EUAs have ranged from in vitro diagnostic products, personal protective equipment and related devices, ventilators and other medical devices, and drug and biological products. The two newest EUAs include the COVID-19 vaccines by Moderna (December 18, 2020) and Pfizer-BioNTech (December 23, 2020).

HAP has been monitoring national trends in supply shortages and has compiled a few suggestions as members continue to address increased patient loads and the requisite demand for needed supplies.

During a press conference today, the Wolf Administration reviewed the current status of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and reinforced ongoing mitigation efforts, while confirming the time-limited order put into place on December 12 will expire on January 4. Officials also provided an update about progress in administering the COVID-19 vaccine and reinforced the priority of ensuring access to the COVID-19 vaccine for health care and emergency workers.

This week, health care workers in Pennsylvania and across the country welcomed news of the distribution of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Months of planning for this vaccine has been condensed to weeks and days, as hospitals have had to focus on strict guidelines for the storage, allocation, and distribution of the vaccine, in order to maximize every available dose. 

During a press conference this afternoon, Governor Tom Wolf highlighted the continuing surge in COVID-19 cases across the state, adding that new temporary restrictions are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid overwhelming the state’s hospitals and health care delivery system. Governor Wolf also stressed that the new restrictions are being put into place to help keep Pennsylvanians as safe as possible during the upcoming holidays.

encourage the healthcare sector to continue sustainable levels of vigilance towards ransomware threats to ensure reliable, required levels of patient care delivery. Unless there is new actionable information, there will not be further updates provided.

As health care emergency management professionals, it is important to stay on top of what is happening and be in the know. The ability to continuously understand what is happening within our facility, in our region, or across the commonwealth is key to taking advantage of precious minutes during unplanned or “pop-up events.”