HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Declares Public Health Emergency for Guam in Response to Typhoon Mawar

Personnel and resources deployed to support the response

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra today declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) for Guam to address the health impacts of Typhoon Mawar. The declaration follows President Biden’s emergency declaration and gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting the emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

“We will do all we can to assist Guam with responding to the health impacts of Typhoon Mawar,” said Secretary Becerra. “We are working closely with territorial health authorities, as well as our federal partners, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”

Earlier, this week, HHS, through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), deployed disaster response personnel from the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to Guam to address the health impacts of Typhoon Mawar.

HHS deployed over 45 NDMS Health and Medical Task Force (HMTF) and Incident Management Team (IMT) personnel to support emergency response efforts. Two HMTF teams are providing medical support to Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning and Guam Regional Medical City in Dededo, while IMT members are managing operations, planning, and logistics on the ground.

“We are prepared for this year’s tropical storms and hurricanes,” said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell. “ASPR has deployed dozens of highly trained response personnel to Guam as part of the combined federal and territory response to Typhoon Mawar – easing the burden on local health systems and saving lives.”

In declaring the public health emergency and authorizing flexibilities for CMS beneficiaries, Secretary Becerra acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act and Social Security Act.

Additional information regarding Public Health Emergency declarations can be found at https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/default.aspx.