Congress Passes Emergency Nurses Association-Supported PAHPA Act

Bill includes provisions to improve civilian-military trauma care training

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (June 5, 2019) – The Emergency Nurses Association on Wednesday praised the House of Representative’s passage this week of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act which includes ENA priority legislation that will lead to the development of a collaborative civilian and military trauma exchange program.

The PAHPA Act reauthorizes disaster preparedness programs and includes the main provisions of the MISSION ZERO Act, an ENA-backed measure which provides a platform that encourages ongoing partnerships and sharing of best practices in trauma care between military and civilian trauma teams and providers.

“ENA has long supported greater collaboration between civilian and military health care providers. The inclusion of MISSION ZERO in the now-passed PAHPA Act will allow our military counterparts to share knowledge gained in the field while maintaining skills between deployments and improving trauma care for both civilian and military patients,” said ENA President Patti Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN.

PAHPA passed in the Senate on May 16 and now awaits the president’s signature.

ENA thanks Reps. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, and Gene Green, D-Texas, as well as Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., for their leadership in introducing MISSION ZERO in Congress and their efforts to have it included in the final PAHPA bill.