Federal Grant Funding Cuts Impact County Public Health Services
County Health Director Melissa Palmer says that following an emergency meeting with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) “substantial reductions in federal grant funding have been taken. These cuts will have a direct and immediate impact on the county’s ability to deliver essential public health programs.”
Specifically, the following grants have been affected, resulting in a total reduction of approximately $800,000 for Mohave County:
Supplemental funding for the Immunization for Children program (IDEAS Funds): $82,457. This funding supported improvements to vaccine cold storage capacity and increased capacity for data entry and reminder recall activities
Supplemental flu vaccination activities (SAIF Funds): $125,000.
Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant: This grant, approved at the December 23, 2024 Board of Supervisors meeting, supported:
- Mobile Health Unit
- Health Navigator program
- Communicable Disease Investigation
- A portion of Public Health Nurse salaries and employee-related expenses
- A portion of Epidemiologist's salary and employee-related expenses
The ELC grant cuts directly impact 4.70 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions.
Palmer reports, “we are actively working with County Manager Elters and Director Mournian to explore resource reallocation and minimize the impact of these cuts. However, the Health Navigator program has been discontinued immediately.” She adds, “furthermore, these reductions will impact certain programs and services, including:
- Mobile Health Unit services
- Communicable disease investigations
- Immunization for children’s programs
Palmer says, “we are diligently monitoring the situation and will provide updates as new information becomes available. We understand the importance of these programs to the community and are committed to finding solutions to mitigate the effects of these funding cuts.”