The R2C will advance the region’s ability to anticipate, respond to, and recover from public health threats by enhancing workforce and surge response capacity, strengthening coalitions active in disasters, and mobilizing for community preparedness.
The COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, extreme heat, and other recent disasters have made one thing clear: the United States needs a stronger and more coordinated public health emergency response system. To meet this need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established ten Regional Centers for Public Health Preparedness and Response, one in each U.S. Department of Health and Human Services region.
The Region 2 Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response (R2C), housed at the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI), serves New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The region spans dense urban centers and geographically isolated island communities, creating complex challenges for preparedness and response. The R2C identifies what works, supports those doing the work, and scales solutions to help communities respond more effectively.
Working with leaders from across the region, the R2C completed the development of its Five-Year Regional Workplan, a roadmap outlining specific activities, milestones, and collaborations to advance the region’s public health preparedness and response priorities. To develop the workplan spanning October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2029, the R2C convened a Regional Coordinating Body (RCB) composed of 30 leaders representing public health departments, emergency management, Tribal Nations, education, hospitals systems, and grassroots community organizations across the region. Together, RCB members identified gaps, shared lessons from the field, and shaped a shared regional vision. The final plan was jointly developed by the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI), led by ICAP at Columbia University with the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy as its key partner, alongside Rutgers School of Public Health, the Regional Coordinating Body, and our cooperative agreement partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Looking Ahead: The Five-Year Regional Workplan
Over the next five years, wIth leaders from around the region, the R2C will advance the region’s ability to anticipate, respond to, and recover from public health threats by enhancing workforce and surge response capacity, strengthening coalitions active in disasters, and mobilizing for community preparedness.
The R2C workplan focuses on strengthening local and hyperlocal Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHPR) capacity across the region and systematically evaluating those improvements. This includes boosting the effectiveness and flexibility of the traditional public health workforce, expanding the capacity of nonprofit and coalitional emergency partners, and developing new forms of hyperlocal surge support. The overall aim is to build a resilient Region 2 where public health systems and communities are prepared for, able to respond to, and capable of recovering from emergencies using evidence-based strategies and practices.
We will continue to provide updates on our progress via our email newsletter The R2C Dispatch, sign up here to get updates. We have also launched a webinar series that will dive deeper into the initiatives we plan to undertake over the coming year.
In Partnership for a Prepared Future
Our priorities have emerged through discussions with our CDC colleagues and the R2C Steering Committee and are well positioned for implementation and evaluation in Year 2. The R2C Steering Committee, which formed after the Regional Coordinating Body completed its duties, provides strategic oversight for Center initiatives, reviewing project plans, guiding implementation and evaluation strategies, and advising on regional engagement, infrastructure, and sustainability. Some elements of this work may extend beyond September 2026 depending on how implementation unfolds, but together they begin to operationalize the five year regional workplan. Through our outreach and collaborative decision making, R2C has broad support and partnership for each of these efforts.
We look forward to working collaboratively with CDC and the Steering Committee throughout this process to strengthen public health preparedness and response in Region 2. We also invite readers to review the full Region 2 Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response Five Year Regional Workplan Report, which outlines our objectives and activities in greater detail.