DHS Office of Health Affairs

DHS Office of Health Affairs
Agency overview

Formed	2003
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	DHS Nebraska Avenue Complex, Washington D.C.
Employees	101 (2012)
Annual budget	$0.2 billion (2012)
Agency executive	Katherine Brinsfield, Assistant Secretary
Parent agency	Department of Homeland Security
Website	DHS Office of Health Affairs

The Office of Health Affairs (OHA) is a component within the United States Department of Homeland Security. OHA provides health and medical expertise in support of the department's mission to prepare for, respond to, and recover from all hazards affecting the nation’s health security. This included the execution of ″Project BioWatch″, an early warning detection network of air samplers in more than 30 US cities.

The Office of Health Affairs was led by the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Health Affairs, who also serves as the DHS chief medical officer and who is appointed by the President of the United States with confirmation by the United States Senate. The current assistant secretary is Katherine Brinsfield. The OHA was absorbed into the DHS Countering WMD Office in 2018.

Budget

DHS Health Affairs Budget, FY11-13 ($ in thousands)
Line Item	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Request
Salaries and Expenses	26,999	29,671	27,757
BioWatch	100,780	114,164	125,294
National Biosurvelliance Integration Center	7,000	12,013	8,000
Planning and Coordination	2,276	6,162	4,907
Chemical Defense Program	2,400	5,439	500
Total Budget	139,455	167,449	166,458

References

"The Truth About BioWatch | Homeland Security".
"Office of Health Affairs Organizational Chart | Homeland Security".
"Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Budget Budget in Brief, DHS, pg 141" (PDF). Department of Homeland Security. 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-10.

External links

DHS Office of Health Affairs official website

v t e United States Department of Homeland Security
Headquarters: St. Elizabeths West Campus Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegallo, Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Deputy Secretary	United States Coast Guard (Commandant) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Director) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Customs and Border Protection Federal Emergency Management Agency Center for Domestic Preparedness National Flood Insurance Program United States Fire Administration Federal Law Enforcement Training Center United States Secret Service Office of Operations Coordination Transportation Security Administration Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Director) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans Office of Immigration Statistics Homeland Security Advisory Council
Science and Technology	Science and Technology Directorate Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency Explosives Division Chemical and Biological Defense Division Border and Maritime Security Division Human Factors and Behavioral Sciences Division Infrastructure Protection and Disaster Management Division Cyber Security Division (National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center) Command, Control and Interoperability Division
Intelligence and Analysis	Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Management	Management Directorate Federal Protective Service Office of Biometric Identity Management
Law enforcement in the United States Terrorism in the United States

United States biological defense program

Organizations

Federal
administrative

DHS	DHS Chemical and Biological Defense Division DHS Office of Health Affairs (National Biosurvelliance Integration Center, BioWatch) National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility National Bioforensic Analysis Center
DNI	National Counterproliferation Center (Advisory Committee on Bioterrorism)
DHHS	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Division of Select Agents and Toxins (CDC) National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity
DoD	Assistant SECDEF for NCB Defense Programs Defense Threat Reduction Agency Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System Joint Program Executive Office of Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) National Center for Medical Intelligence

Federal
research

Trans- departmental	National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (National Interagency Biodefense Campus, Fort Detrick) Integrated National Biodefense Medical Countermeasures Portfolio (DHHS/DoD)
Military	U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Dugway Proving Ground
Civilian	Galveston National Laboratory (UTMB/NIAID) Integrated Research Facility (HHS/NIAID) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (HHS) Homeland Security Research Program (EPA/DHS) Plum Island Animal Disease Center (USDA) Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit (USDA)

Response

Local	Local Health Departments
State	State Health Departments Nebraska Biocontainment Patient Care Unit
Federal	National Medical Response Team/National Pharmacy Response Team (NDMS, HHS) Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (USMC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (CDC) Aeromedical Biological Containment System (CDC) Bioterror Rapid Response and Advanced Technology Laboratory (CDC)

Non-
governmental

Academic centers
and think tanks

Government
contractors

Programs
and projects

Threat reduction	Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, implemented the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Biological Threat Reduction (DoD) plus Project Bacchus Project Clear Vision Project Jefferson
Biosurveillance	National Biosurveillance Strategy Laboratory Response Network (CDC) BioWatch (EPA, CDC) Global Bio-Surveillance Technology Initiative (GBTI), Bio-Surveillance Management Office (BMO) (part of JPEO-CBD) ESSENCE (DoD) RODS (Civilian)
Biosecurity/Biosurety	Select Agent Program (CDC) Personnel Reliability Program (DoD)
Medical intelligence	National Intelligence Assessments on Infectious Diseases
Disaster response	National Response Framework of the National Strategy for Homeland Security (DHS; including NIMS and ICS) National Disaster Medical System (DHHS) Strategic National Stockpile (CDC, DHS)

Technology
and equipment

Protection	MOPP NBC suit Respirators
Detection	Cell CANARY Biological Materials MASINT Autonomous Pathogen Detection System Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS)
Biocontainment	Biosafety level Biosafety cabinet Positive pressure personnel suit

Law

Treaties

Geneva Protocol (1925, 1975)
Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs (1969)
Biological Weapons Convention (1972)

Legislation

International
representation

History

Past biological incidents	1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack 1989 California medfly attack 2001 anthrax attacks Wood Green ricin plot (2002) 2003 ricin letters 2013 ricin letters
Defunct organizations and programs	United States Army Medical Unit United States biological weapons program Sunshine Project Aeromedical Isolation Team (DoD)