Health Care Sector

What Does the Department of Homeland Security Say About the Sector?

Definition: The Healthcare and Public Health Sector safeguards the United States against terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters by delivering essential medical care, public health services, and emergency response capabilities to millions of Americans through more than 300,000 hospitals, clinics, and public health agencies. The vast majority of these assets are privately owned and operated, making the sector's resilience heavily dependent on robust public-private collaboration. Any significant disruption to healthcare and public health services would have a debilitating effect on national security, economic stability, and the safety of the American public.

 
Goals:

• Strengthen the resilience and protection of healthcare facilities and public health systems against all hazards

• Recognize and reduce risk from cyber threats, including ransomware attacks targeting patient data and critical medical systems

• Foster collaboration and information sharing between private sector organizations and federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners

• Maintain continuity of care and public health services during and after emergencies or disruptions

We help identify gaps in operational crisis management and resilience capabilities caused by limited information sharing, unclear command and control structures, misunderstood interdependencies, lack of insight into partners’ procedures, and insufficient integrated decision-making.

The Partnership for Healthcare and Emergency Management unites academic, healthcare, and emergency management professionals from the public and private sectors to advance leadership excellence. It serves as a collaborative hub for developing programs and solutions that strengthen security, resilience, and continuity across the healthcare sector.