Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2004 / Notices 57297

submitted by claimant under 45 CFR Part 35 

and submits Acceptance of Offer of $300,000. 

In order to ensure that any personal injury 

settlement with claimant is binding and final 

and resolves all potential claims arising out 

of the alleged negligence, Department in its 

sole discretion determines that, in the event 

of a settlement, claimant’s spouse and 

children will be required to execute the 

standard Stipulation, thereby waiving and 

releasing all past, present, and future claims, 

including any future claims for wrongful 

death. Because the children are minors, 

Department in its sole discretion determines 

that in the event of a settlement, claimant 

will be required to obtain, at claimant’s 

expense, appropriate court approval of any 

settlement on behalf of the minor children to 

ensure that the waivers and releases by the 

children are enforceable. Department 

includes these conditions in its Acceptance 

of Offer submitted to SD. Claimant submits 

separate Early Offer of $250,000. SD finds the 

Early Offer is equal to or less than the 

Acceptance of Offer and informs claimant 

and Department that the claim has settled for 

$250,000, subject to claimant’s fulfillment of 

the conditions stated by Department in its 

Acceptance of Offer. 

(a) Claimant obtains, at claimant’s expense, 

court approval of the settlement on behalf of 

the minor children, and claimant’s spouse 

and children execute the standard 

Stipulation. The settlement becomes binding 

and final and is consummated. 

(b) Claimant informs Department that she 

cannot obtain concurrence of her spouse or 

minor children, or that she cannot obtain 

court approval on behalf of the minor 

children. Because claimant cannot satisfy 

conditions of the settlement, the settlement 

does not become binding or final. 

Department may continue to process 

claimant’s claim under Department’s 

traditional procedures, and claimant may file 

lawsuit if appropriate under 28 U.S.C. 

2675(a). The existence and terms of the 

unconsummated settlement will ordinarily 

be inadmissible in a subsequent lawsuit for 

the alleged medical negligence. See Fed. R. 

Evid. 408.

IV. Further Information 

This notice is not intended to 

constitute, and does not constitute, a 

comprehensive notice pertaining to any 

provision of the FTCA except to the 

extent that procedures governing the 

Department’s settlement of claims 

brought pursuant to the FTCA are 

described above. The decisions 

regarding whether to file an Acceptance 

of Offer, and the terms of any such 

Acceptance of Offer, are within the sole 

discretion of the United States. In 

particular, the determinations whether 

to require releases from persons in 

addition to the claimant or claimants, 

and whether to require court approval 

on behalf of any such persons, are 

within the sole discretion of the 

Department. This program gives rise to 

no cause of action, and claimants have 

no right to require the Department to 

make an Acceptance of Offer. Claimants’

rights shall be determined solely by the 

terms of any settlement reached 

hereunder and applicable law.

Dated: September 20, 2004. 

Alex M. Azar II, 

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 04–21450 Filed 9–21–04; 11:43 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) to allow the proposed 

information collection project: ‘‘AHRQ–

HRSA Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive 

(All Hazards) Preparedness 

Questionnaire for Healthcare Facilities 

for 2004 (CBRNE)’’. In accordance with 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), AHRQ is 

submitting to OMB a request for 

Emergency Review. 

This emergency review is requested 

because collection of this information is 

urgently needed. The information that 

will be generated by this survey is 

critical to the preparedness of the nation 

with respect to chemical, biological, 

radiological, nuclear and explosive 

hazards. 

It is crucial for national security that 

we obtain a baseline assessment of the 

level of preparedness of our hospitals 

and health care facilities in order to 

plan Government program priorities, 

and to offer current and timely 

information to the Department of Health 

and Human Services, the Congress, and 

to the President in order to inform 

policy decisions relevant to emergency 

preparedness. 

There has been extensive interest by 

Federal, State, and Local government 

offices in obtaining this information and 

frequent requests from Congress, the 

Congressional Research Service, Office 

of Management and Budget, 

Government Accounting Office, and 

Department of Homeland Security in 

order to monitor hospital(s) all hazards 

preparedness program, and the current 

level of preparedness in the nation, in 

order to plan for future all hazards 

preparedness program(s) and 

policymaking.

DATES: AHRQ is requesting that OMB 

provide a seven-day review for public 

comment period on these requirements.

ADDRESSES: Written comments for the 

proposed information collection should 

be submitted to the OMB Desk Officer 

at the following address: John Kraemer, 

Human Resources and Housing Branch, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, OMB: New Executive Office 

Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC. 

All comments will become a matter of 

public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia D. McMichael, AHRQ, Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1651.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

‘‘Chemical, Biological, Radiological, 

Nuclear and Explosive (All Hazards) 

Preparedness Questionnaire for 

Healthcare Facilities for 2004 (CBRNE)’’

The Preparedness Questionnaire is an 

inventory of all U.S. hospitals, designed 

to measure national levels of 

preparedness for a chemical, biological, 

radiological, nuclear and explosive 

(CBRNE) event. One point of contact 

will be designated in each hospital to 

provide information on a range of topics 

that have been deemed essential by a 

panel of nationally-recognized experts 

on issues related to hospital 

preparedness for a CBRNE, i.e., an allhazards event. These topics include 

facility planning and administration; 

training and education; communication 

and notification; patient capacity; 

staffing and support; isolation and 

decontamination; supplies, 

pharmaceuticals and laboratory support; 

and surveillance. 

The inventory, which will be 

administered in 2004 and again in 2005, 

will provide national, state, and regional 

levels of preparedness by type of 

hospital, as well as estimates of bed 

capacity and emergency increase (surge) 

capacity. This information will establish 

a baseline measure of preparedness and 

readiness for a CBRNE event in 

hospitals, and will be used to assess the 

current national level of preparedness. 

It will also be useful for national 

planning, program planning, setting 

priority areas in addressing current and 

future needs, as well as ensuring that 

scarce resources are being used in a way 

that achieves the most impact in 

preparedness. Future studies will be 

conducted to assess advances in 

preparedness levels. 

57298 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2004 / Notices 

Data Confidentiality Provisions 

The data will be collected by an 

independent consulting firm under 

terms of its contract. The identifiable 

information about institutions will be 

kept confidential in accordance with 42 

U.S.C. 299c–3(c). AHRQ and HRSA will 

revieve only state-level summary data, 

and not individual hospital responses. 

Method of Collection 

The 2004 preparedness questionnaire 

will be administered electronically to 

each hospital via electronic mail. The 

estimated annual burden is as follows:

ESTIMATED ANNUAL RESPONDENT

BURDEN

Number of

questionnaire

recipients 

Estimated

burden/

respondent

(minutes) 

Total hours

of burden 

6000 .................. 60 6000 

The estimate burden is based on the 

completion of a paper version of the 

questionnaire by a pilot hospital. The 

more efficient data collection effort 

enabled by the electronic format has 

been taken into account in this estimate. 

The annualized cost to all potential 

respondents is estimated at $209,040 

Total ($34.84/hr [average staff time] × 1 

hr. 6000 respondents). Percentage of 

capital costs, operating costs or 

maintenance costs are negligible. We 

propose a census information collection 

approach as appropriate data on which 

to develop a stratified, purposive 

sample is unavailable. Future studies 

will utilize statistical methods based on 

our baseline data to develop a sampling 

scheme. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the above cited 

Paperwork Reduction Act legislation, 

comments on the AHRQ’s and HRSA’s 

information collection are requested 

with regard to any of the following: (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of functions of AHRQ and 

HRSA, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden (including hours and 

costs) of the proposed collection of 

information (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will summarized and 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of the proposed information 

collection. All comments will become a 

matter of public record.

Dated: September 17, 2004. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director.

[FR Doc. 04–21469 Filed 9–23–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

Emerging Infections Programs 

Announcement Type: Competing 

Continuation. 

Funding Opportunity Number: CI05–

026. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 93.283. 

Key Dates:

Letter of Intent Deadline: October 11, 

2004. 

Application Deadline: November 1, 

2004. 

Executive Summary: The purpose of 

this program announcement is to 

provide continued support to existing 

Emerging Infections Programs (EIPs), or 

to develop new EIPs, as part of the 

national network. EIPs are populationbased centers which assess the public 

health impact of and respond to 

emerging infections. Activities of the 

EIPs fall into these general categories: 

(1) Active surveillance; (2) applied 

public health epidemiologic and 

laboratory activities; and (3) 

implementation and evaluation of pilot 

prevention/intervention projects. The 

EIPs function as a collaborative network 

of public and private organizations that 

have an interest in addressing infectious 

diseases health issues; EIPs maintain 

sufficient flexibility to address 

infectious disease health issues as they 

emerge. EIPs are strategically located to 

serve a variety of geographical areas and 

diverse groups of people. 

The following guiding principles 

motivate the work of the EIPs: (1) EIPs 

aim to be a national resource for 

surveillance, prevention, and control of 

emerging infectious diseases—EIP 

functions go beyond the routine 

functions of health departments in ways 

that allow important public health 

questions to be answered; (2) EIP 

activities address important issues in 

infectious diseases, selected with regard 

to what is appropriate for this 

population-based infrastructure; (3) EIPs 

maintain sufficient flexibility for 

emergency response and to address new 

problems as they arise; (4) training is a 

key function of the EIPs; (5) EIPs 

develop and evaluate public health 

practices and transfer what is learned to 

the public health community; and (6) 

EIPs give high priority to activities that 

lead directly to prevention of disease. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Authority: This program is authorized 

under the Public Health Service Act Sections 

301(a)[42 U.S.C. 241(a)], 317(k)(1)[42 U.S.C. 

247b(k)(1)], and 317(k)(2)[42 U.S.C. 

247b(k)(2)], as amended.

Purpose: The purpose of the program 

is to assist in local, state, and national 

efforts to conduct surveillance and 

public health epidemiologic and 

laboratory activities in emerging 

infectious diseases, and to pilot and 

evaluate methods for the prevention and 

control of emerging infectious diseases. 

This program addresses the ‘‘Healthy 

People 2010’’ focus area(s) of 

Immunization and Infectious Diseases. 

Measurable outcomes of the program 

will be in alignment with the following 

performance goal for the National 

Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID): 

Protect Americans from infectious 

diseases. 

Research Objectives: The overall 

objective of the EIP cooperative 

agreement is to assess the public health 

impact of and respond to emerging 

infections. Activities of the EIPs fall into 

these general categories: (1) Active 

surveillance; (2) applied public health 

epidemiologic and laboratory activities; 

and (3) implementation and evaluation 

of pilot prevention/intervention 

projects. Specific objectives for research 

and other activities supported by this 

cooperative agreement are outlined in 

the individual Activities, below.

Activities: Awardee activities for this 

program are as follows: 

(a) Functions and structure for EIP—

Establish and operate an EIP to further 

local, State, and national efforts to 

address emerging infectious diseases. 

(1) Establish each EIP activity in a 

defined population, which could 

include either an entire State or a 

geographically defined area (or areas) 

within a State. The population base may 

vary for various activities. For certain 

activities, the population base may be 

defined by a healthcare delivery system 

such as a health maintenance 

organization (HMO). To accomplish the 

objectives of certain EIP activities, a 

minimum population base of 

approximately 1,500,000 may be 

necessary.