CLEVELAND, Ohio – University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center has been awarded a five-year, $56.25 million cooperative agreement from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – $11.25 million annually – to lead the newly established Pediatric Prevention Network (PPN). It is the largest grant UH has ever received and marks a major national investment in pediatric emergency preparedness.
Led by experts at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's, the Pediatric Prevention Network – formerly the Pediatric Pandemic Network – will serve as a national resource dedicated to pediatric preparedness, prevention, response, recovery, and resilience. Building on the original network's work, the PPN broadens its scope beyond pandemics to address the full range of threats facing children and families, including natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, mass casualty incidents, environmental hazards, and everyday emergencies.
"This historic award reflects the national leadership and expertise that UH Rainbow has built in pediatric preparedness," said Charles Macias, MD, MPH, principal investigator of the grant and division chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and chief quality officer at UH Rainbow. "The Pediatric Prevention Network represents a bold new vision for ensuring that every community, health care system, and emergency response partner is better prepared to meet the unique needs of children. We are honored that HRSA has entrusted us with leading this critical national effort."
The network will unite children's hospitals, health systems, public health agencies, emergency management organizations, researchers, educators, and community partners in a coordinated push to improve pediatric readiness nationwide. Through quality improvement, training, education, data analytics, and community engagement, the PPN will develop evidence-based solutions that strengthen preparedness and improve outcomes for children.
UH Rainbow has been a key leader in the national Pediatric Pandemic Network, helping expand disaster preparedness training, strengthen hospital readiness, advance pediatric disaster science, and widen access to educational resources for clinicians and families. Recent work has included training pediatric practices, supporting emergency response collaborations, expanding family preparedness education, and developing new tools to protect children's health during emergencies.
"The Pediatric Prevention Network will allow us to take everything we have learned and build a more comprehensive local, regional, and national framework for pediatric preparedness," said Deanna Dahl-Grove, MD, FAAP, site principal investigator and pediatric emergency medicine physician at UH Rainbow. "Children have unique medical, developmental, and behavioral health needs that must be considered at every stage of emergency planning and response. This investment will help ensure that communities across the country are better equipped to protect children when they are most vulnerable."
The award will support a broad range of activities, including:
UH Rainbow expects to collaborate with leading children's hospitals and pediatric experts nationwide to implement the network and advance its mission of improving outcomes for children before, during, and after emergencies.
"This investment is ultimately about protecting children and strengthening communities," said Marissa Kiefer, president of UH Rainbow and UH MacDonald Women's Hospital. "We are proud to lead this national effort and grateful to HRSA for its commitment to keeping children at the center of preparedness planning across the country."
To learn more about the Pediatric Prevention Network, visit pedspreventionnetwork.org.