Granite State Health Care Coalition

Who We Are

The Granite State Health Care Coalition (GSHCC) is funded by a grant through the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) from the United States department of health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The GSHCC is a statewide network of key representatives from public and private health and safety organizations that help communities prepare, respond, and recover from incidents impacting the New Hampshire healthcare system. The GSHCC serves as a direct support to the State Emergency Support Function-8 (ESF-8). The NH DHHS Emergency Services Unit (ESU) serves as the ESF-8 lead for the State of New Hampshire.

What is a health care coalition?

A health care coalition is focused on enhancing emergency preparedness capabilities across the health care continuum.   

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has defined a health care coalition as “a group of individual health care and response organizations (e.g., hospitals, emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management organizations, public health agencies, etc.) in a defined geographic location. Healthcare coalitions play a critical role in developing health care delivery system preparedness and response capabilities. Healthcare coalitions serve as multiagency coordinating groups that support and integrate with ESF-8 activities in the context of incident command system (ICS) responsibilities.”

What We Do

The mission of the GSHCC is to provide a foundation for health care readiness across the continuum of care in New Hampshire by:

• Assessing the state of health care system readiness in New Hampshire;
• Encouraging and supporting members in all-hazards planning, coordination, and capacity development
• Sharing best practices and lessons learned; and
• Promoting the value and importance of health care readiness and resilience.

With this mission in mind, GSHCC will provide a foundation for health care readiness in New Hampshire by:

• Encouraging, promoting, and supporting membership recruitment and retention;
• Identifying hazards and risks to the health care system;
• Prioritizing and addressing gaps through planning, training, exercising, educational opportunities, and resource management;
• Encouraging collaborative approaches to information and resource sharing between member organizations;
• Supporting member organizations to provide continuity of health care service delivery;
• Seeking funding avenues and sources for sustainment of the coalition;
• Meeting all performance measures established by Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) under the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), and
• Assisting with response efforts as requested by State of New Hampshire ESF-8-Health and Medical Lead.