The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $49 million in grants to improve the quality of healthcare and strengthen the public health infrastructure - double the spending for the same programs in 2010.
Awarded to all 50 states, the grants, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, strengthen state, local and territorial health departments’ capacity to perform critical epidemiology and laboratory work, detect and prevent healthcare-associated infections and support immunization programs.
“Investing in public health is a key part of the Affordable Care Act. It helps transform our nation’s health care system from one based on when people get sick to one that prevents disease in the first place,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The grants will fund key state and local public health programs supported through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the grants awarded, $35.8 million in Prevention and Public Health Fund dollars and $3.8 million in additional CDC funding will go to increasing epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems capacity at health departments in all 50 states, two territories and the six largest local jurisdictions (such as the cities of Los Angeles and Philadelphia). This is the second year that the ACA has strengthened public health departments’ capacity to fight infectious diseases through enhanced workforce training and improved information technology.
“This funding will be used to create jobs, enabling the hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists and health information specialists in the field of infectious diseases. These are experts who often work behind the scenes in healthcare to fight disease and keep us healthy,” said Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the CDC. “These grants will also make it easier for health departments to better manage and exchange important information.”
Almost $9 million will be used to bolster states’ abilities to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which lead to nearly 100,000 deaths every year. Funds will help states coordinate their HAI prevention activities, implement multi-facility, multi-disciplinary prevention efforts, improve monitoring of antimicrobial use and enhance electronic reporting of HAIs.
Another $600,000 will be used to bolster states’ immunization infrastructure and programs. These dollars will strengthen the evidence base for immunization programs and policy by supporting important evaluations on the effectiveness of various vaccines.