New National Emergency Preparedness and Response Learning and Action Network Launches to Strengthen Collaboration Across U.S. Regions

Under new initiative, ten regional partners will work collaboratively to share knowledge, coordinate action, and strengthen systems for future emergencies.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Working in partnership with ten major regional and national health institutions with deep experience and expertise, Project ECHO at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center will facilitate a new initiative focused on bolstering emergency preparedness and response capacity across the country. The project, which is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), connects local, regional and national partners in a virtual learning and action community to share best practices, improve data sharing, coordination and communication.

The new Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Learning and Action Network will support ten regional programs – each led by a regional partner – that will focus on locally relevant healthcare preparedness and response priorities. These ten programs will then form one larger national network to share real-time information and best practices, align strategy, coordinate response, and strengthen the EPR workforce through training, mentorship, and shared resources.

The ten regional partners participating in the network include Cedars-Sinai, Corewell Health, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and University of Texas Medical Branch.

"The network is a direct response to recent public health crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, climate disasters, and ongoing disruptions in policy and data structures," said Bruce Struminger, M.D., director of global health initiatives at Project ECHO. "These challenges both expose and contribute to fragmentation in our current preparedness and response systems that need our immediate attention."

Anne Zink, M.D., former chief medical officer for the State of Alaska and past president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) will serve as a lead facilitator for the national learning and action network. Dr. Zink is a practicing emergency medicine physician and a Senior Fellow at the Yale School of Public Health.

"I was eager to be a part of this work because of the amazing partners it brings together. The combined experience of this group is extraordinary," said Zink. "I see my role as elevating their knowledge, experience, and learnings – as well as bringing to them resources and expertise to help us build a community of practice to drive a more resilient and responsive system better prepared and able to respond to the challenges ahead." 

From the start, the network will learn from and coordinate and engage directly with other efforts currently underway to shore up preparedness and response in the U.S. and globally, including the STAT Network, the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, the West Coast Health Alliance, and the World Health Organization's Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.

"We're excited to support this effort being spearheaded by the team at Project ECHO because it's clear-eyed about building the approach we need for the time we're in," said Nancy Barrand, senior program officer at RWJF. "It builds from previous work by the ECHO team during the COVID-19 pandemic—partnering with the federal government and health organizations across the country—to share critical, real-time learning. Going forward, we need these strong learning networks in place to respond to emerging threats anywhere in the country as they arise. It's not about putting things together the way they were before, it's about reimagining the systems we need now and for the future."

Partner Perspectives:

"Healthcare emergency preparedness is critically important to maintaining care of patients during a crisis. I'm excited to be a part of this new iECHO series, the National Emergency Preparedness and Response Learning and Action Network, to strengthen healthcare resiliency not only in our communities but across the country." – Julie Bulson, DNP, senior director, Corewell Health

"This initiative has allowed us to bridge the gap between planning and practice. By leveraging the ECHO model, we're fostering regional collaboration across public health, healthcare, and emergency management – ensuring that preparedness efforts are aligned, scalable, and grounded in real-world operational challenges." – Ariana Boshara, project manager for disaster health, Denver Health and Hospital Authority

"Our program has been deeply involved in Project ECHO for many years, but now for the first time we have the opportunity to learn from our regional and national partners, leverage our collective expertise and perspectives, and synergize with and strengthen our network to increase disaster preparedness. This project gives us the unique ability to expand our efforts through not just biological threat preparedness but allowing us to run a simultaneous program with our all-hazards preparedness organizations to reach an even broader community, the Southern Regional Disaster Response System, led by Dr. Alex Isakov." – Gavin Harris, M.D., director of regional education & training, Serious Communicable Diseases Program, Emory University.

"This collective effort highlights the truism that 'all response is local,' and successful response requires building a prepared front line that can be enhanced using a community of practice model." – Noreen Hynes, M.D., MPH, director for research, Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center. 

"This program will help our partners across the entire New England Region continue to strengthen our community of healthcare emergency preparedness practitioners in Region 1. The support from RWJF will allow us to convene healthcare emergency managers and others to share their diverse viewpoints, experiences, successes, and challenges with each other, making us all stronger and more resilient." –

Eileen Searle, PhD, director of funded projects, Center for Disaster Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

"Project ECHO gives us the opportunity to learn from one another across disciplines and to strengthen preparedness across our region." – Margaret L. Aldrich, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, pediatric hospital epidemiologist, Bellevue Hospital

"By bringing together regional and national partners through Project ECHO, we are strengthening the capacity of communities to prepare for and respond to emergencies. This initiative creates a regional community of practice where shared learning, coordination, and real time collaboration can translate to better outcomes for public health and healthcare partners." – Christa Arguinchona, program manager, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital

"Our team appreciates the opportunity to partner with Project ECHO and our expert colleagues from across the United States. We look forward to sharing our experience in biopreparedness and biocontainment and gaining insights from our colleagues on their efforts to build stronger response networks and enhance our collective ability to address current and emerging threats." – Angela Hewlett, M.D., medical director, Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, University of Nebraska Medical Center

About Project ECHO

Founded in 2003, Project ECHO is a global, not-for-profit organization headquartered at The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. ECHO empowers practitioners in rural and underserved areas to reduce disparities and improve the well-being of people in the communities where they live. Its low-cost virtual mentoring model addresses some of the world's greatest challenges in clinical medicine and public health.

For more information, please contact
Ben Milder at [email protected] or (703) 731-9245
Deb Trevino at [email protected] or (505) 358-0550

SOURCE Project ECHO