NACCHO’S Preparedness Team has collaborated with the ASPR H-CORE Team on a data modernization project involving two pilot sites—City of Long Beach Health and Human Services and Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department. This initiative is designed to facilitate rapid access to actionable data concerning medical countermeasures (MCMs) and other critical public health supplies during emergencies. The core objective is to establish a robust bidirectional data-sharing framework between the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and local health departments, ensuring a coordinated, scalable, and timely response to crises that may impact national health. The Data Use Agreement (DUA) related to this project aims to be event-agnostic and to allow for minimum data elements (i.e. manufacturer name, expiration date, national drug code, etc.) of government assets to flow bidirectionally on a regular basis, as well as in emergency situations. Assets can vary from vaccines to baby formula—depending on the emergency. Transparency on emergency response assets allows for timely and equitable decision-making at all levels of government.

In May 2024, team members from NACCHO’s Public Health Preparedness and Informatics teams conducted pilot site visits alongside ASPR H-CORE team members. With each pilot site having differing organizational structures, the meetings provided key takeaways which better informed all parties on the unique processes of implementing a DUA with a local health department. The City of Long Beach is one of only three city-run health departments in California, has its own City Health Department and is also within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Conversely, Northern Kentucky Health Department is an Independent Health District serving four counties, ranging from urban to rural areas. These two different health department models provided insight to ASPR’s team as to the diverse and unique ways local health departments coordinate with their community partners, healthcare coalitions, and respective state partners.

At the project’s onset, both sites identified two key components to their work: updates to their inventory management systems and collaboration with their local and state partners to determine which minimum data elements would be most critical. The City of Long Beach and Northern Kentucky Health Departments are also assessing the scalability and implementation factors of this DUA with their respective partners. Factors can include training staff and partners, refining administrative preparedness processes, and more. Sustainability of these ecosystems and the DUA has been a consideration for each pilot site, with a goal of identifying the various avenues to maintain a DUA and keep its supporting systems in place.

A DUA that includes agreed upon minimum data elements prior to a crisis is an important strategy for administrative preparedness. According to NACCHO’s 2022 Preparedness Profile, local health departments were most likely to have informal mechanisms in place to address administrative preparedness need during a public health emergency. As this project continues, the teams aim to gain more insight into the challenges, or successes, that can arise in the implementation processes, maintenance of systems, training, partnerships, and more.