Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $42.5 million in funding to state, tribal, local and territorial health departments for 94 projects to improve public health.
The funding, made possible through the new Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the Affordable Care Act, will be distributed through five-year cooperative agreements to 49 states, eight federally recognized tribes, Washington, D.C., nine large local health departments, five territories and three affiliated Pacific Island jurisdictions to maximize public health efforts, according to Sebelius.
"These funds will help health departments around the country to improve the quality and effectiveness of the critical health services that millions of Americans rely on every day," she said. "Strengthening our public health system through better coordination and collaboration will help to deliver higher quality healthcare more efficiently."
According to Sebelius, the program, to be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will bolster public health services by:
- Building capacity within health departments for evaluating the effectiveness of their organizations;
- Expanding and training public health staff on system efficiency;
- Maximizing the public health system to improve networking;
- Finding and using public health's best practices; and
- Building a national network of performance improvement managers.
"Investing in public health builds a foundation for a strong and healthy society and contributes to lowering the cost of healthcare," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden. "Investing in proven preventive services and strong policies helps us to avoid unnecessary costs later."