Senator Richard Burr Honored For Commitment To Preparedness
North Carolina Senator To Receive Award At HIDA Washington Summit On June 16th
Alexandria, VA, May 11, 2022 – The Health Industry Distributors Association today announced that Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) will be honored as the recipient of HIDA’s Preparedness Policy Excellence Award.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Senator Burr has been a leader on preparedness,” said HIDA President & CEO Matthew J. Rowan. “He has literally written into existence the laws and agencies that have guided America through every public health emergency of the last 15 years. We can think of no better person to receive our Preparedness Policy Excellence Award.”
In 2006, Senator Burr authored the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which created the modern framework for responding to pandemics, biothreats, and natural disasters. PAHPA created the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services charged with supporting local communities in preventing, preparing, and responding to public health emergencies and natural disasters. Since 2006, ASPR has led the nation’s public health response to the Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19 outbreaks, and helped to coordinate hospital evacuations in North Carolina during the landfall of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
In 2019, he worked in a bipartisan manner to reauthorize PAHPA, through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAI), to build upon its existing framework to address a range of 21st century threats. Working closely with HIDA, Senator Burr ensured this law included multiple provisions supporting the role of the medical supply chain and the importance of public-private partnerships during public health emergencies. Additionally, PAHPAI enhanced research and development capabilities for advanced technologies and medical countermeasures, with a particular focus on antibiotic resistance and vaccine development.
Senator Burr is currently working on S.3799, the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats (PREVENT) and Pandemics Act. The PREVENT Pandemics Act is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation that will apply lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen medical supply chains and public health preparedness.
North Carolina is home to the largest number of medical supply manufacturers and distributors in the southeast United States. This includes the manufacture of surgical kits in Asheville, procedure trays in Salisbury, medical furniture and examination tables in High Point, meltblown fabric for personal protective equipment in Lexington, and laboratory pipette tips in Alamance County.
About HIDA
HIDA is the industry trade association representing 114 distribution companies operating 500+ medical distribution centers across the care continuum nationwide. HIDA members deliver medical products and supplies, manage logistics, and offer customer services to virtually every healthcare provider. In 2020, they reliably delivered 51 billion units of PPE “the last mile” to providers. Visit HIDA.org.