Recent cuts to federal grants have been extensive and have even reached Columbus.
Federal health officials said last week they are pulling back $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and local public health departments and other health organizations throughout the nation.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
Columbus Public Health lost about half of a $6 million Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant for COVID-19 enhanced operations, leading CPH to let go of 11 staff members. CPH had already spent $3 million of the grant.
The grant, which first became available in 2022, was for local and state health departments to recover from the pandemic and prepare for other possible outbreaks, explained Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Health Commissioner with Columbus Public Health.
Columbus Public Health used some of the money to hire 11 infectious disease investigators for the agency's infectious disease investigation unit. The unit is responsible for contact tracing for Ohio’s nearly 80 reportable infectious diseases, which include measles, meningitis, mumps and several types of hepatitis.
Roberts said the investigators made a big difference during an outbreak of measles in fall 2022.
“They would help identify close contacts that needed to be quarantined during the period to make sure they did not have signs and symptoms of measles,” Roberts said. “They were instrumental in that work."
Roberts said the staff members made a difference in other outbreaks as well. The employees were supposed to stay on through the end of this year when the grant funding was set to expire, but due to the funding cuts, Roberts said the staff members were let go early.
"We're going to do our best to make it seem less of an impact to the public, but I do believe that it's going to slow us down,” Roberts said.
Roberts had also hoped to use some of the COVID-19 enhanced operations grant money to improve the technology used at CPH.
She planned to buy the Epic healthcare app, more commonly known as MyChart, which helps patients communicate with their providers and keep their medical records in one easy-to-access place. Most major hospital systems, including Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, already use the software.
“At this point in time, I don’t know where I’m going to get the money from,” Roberts said.
About $44 million of Columbus Public Health's $96 million budget comes from federal grants, including some that first pass through the state. Roberts said more of those grants could be at risk.
“I'm very concerned about that,” Roberts said. “You know, we're already hearing that some of our grants are in question. If you read the news or follow the media, you've heard things like HIV prevention being in jeopardy. You've heard about family planning or Title X funds being in jeopardy.”
Columbus Public Health provides a variety of health services, including an immunization clinic, women’s health and family planning, alcohol and drug treatment and community outreach and education.
“A lot of people don't understand what we do, and that's because our job is to work behind the scenes to protect everyone's health and wellbeing,” Roberts said. “I think people need to understand that this funding and any other funding reductions are really going to impact the public health department's ability to respond quickly, to respond with all the tools that we need.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
