By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After the end of work hours on Tuesday, an email showed up at the Wood County Health Department stating the end date for an $8 million federal grant was being bumped up to March 24, 2025.
That meant the funding was cut off the day before the email arrived.
“We don’t really fully understand the implications,” Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison said on Wednesday. Across Ohio, other health departments were finding themselves with few answers to the same questions.
“We weren’t expecting this,” Robison said. “This is a missed opportunity for our community.”
Federal health officials said Tuesday they were pulling back $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and local public health departments and other health organizations, according to the Associated Press.
The funding had been authorized by Congress, and it was out the door, into the hands of the states, which decided how to distribute it locally.
Wood County Health Department was granted $8 million – the largest amount awarded to a health department in Ohio. The agency was given parameters for how it could be spent, and a deadline of Dec. 31, 2025 for the funding to be expended.
It still isn’t clear, but Robison believes it is “highly unlikely” that the health department would have to return the $3 million already spent across the county.
Though the grant title included the word “COVID,” the funding was used for many more programs preventing infectious diseases.
“We intend to make good use of this,” Robison said to the board when the grant was announced. “So we can make a lasting impact.”
As of earlier this month, approximately $3 million had been spent on such items as the new mobile health center, water bottle filling stations in communities throughout the county, UV disinfection systems for local hospitals and to lend to places experiencing an outbreak, HVAC improvements, and floor cleaning equipment for schools and similar public buildings.
The remaining money was all assigned to further projects – such as helping to fund renovations for the local WIC program, providing school nurses, starting a transportation pilot program, educational equipment for schools, and more water bottle stations, HVAC updates, plus hand and mop sinks.
“We were building projects,” said Robison, who is worried about causing “whiplash” among those waiting for or working on projects.
When the health department got word of the funding change, staff sent emails Tuesday evening to about a dozen people who had been contracted with to work on the projects. Those emails asked the contract employees to put a pause on their work.
“I was shocked,” said Kathy Pereira de Almeida, a contract employee who has been working on the hands-free water bottle filling stations being put in schools, churches, hospitals and other public buildings. “It’s doing such nice things for the community.”
The water stations – fully paid for by the grant – have been installed in 136 locations around the county. And more were being planned, Almeida said.
Another contract employee, Kathleen Dennis, wasn’t so surprised at the abrupt end to funding.
“It’s about infectious diseases, and that’s something they don’t care about,” Dennis said about the Trump administration. She has been working on creating educational materials to be used in schools and communities. “They were nearly ready to launch,” she said.
Mary Dennis, who retired after starting a career in public health in 1991, signed up as a contract employee in 2020 during COVID clinics. She did case investigations and contract tracing.
There is still work to be done to prepare for and respond to infectious diseases, the three women agreed.
“It’s frightening to me” that preparing for public health issues is not viewed as a worthy investment, Mary Dennis said. “If you don’t invest in public health, it can’t be reactive when we need it to be.”
In a few cases, the health department will probably have to absorb some costs. But in most cases, the planned projects will be on an indefinite pause.
Plans were in place to send health department staff to professional development and training. “As of now, those won’t happen,” Robison said.
Robison pointed out that the health department was careful to not plan to use the funding for long-term projects.
“Even though we’re disappointed, it’s not going to prevent us from delivering public health on a day-to-day basis,” Robison said.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration shut down ordering from covidtest.gov, the site where Americans could have COVID-19 tests delivered to their mailboxes for no charge.
Although the COVID federal public health emergency has ended, the virus is still killing Americans. On average, 458 people per week have died from COVID over the past four weeks, according to CDC data.
Robison is hoping this funding cut is not a sign of things to come. Federal funding supports other Wood County Health Department programs such as WIC, the Community Health Center, emergency preparedness response, and free vaccines for children.
The contract employees affected by this week’s cuts are saddened by the loss to their incomes, and the hit to public health.
“I’m going to feel it in my pocketbook for sure,” Mary Dennis said. “What I don’t like even more is the loss it will be for our community.”
“I didn’t know it would reach my family, my friends’ families, so soon,” just over two months into the new administration, Almeida said.
“Building resilience is a public health issue,” Kathleen Dennis said.
“Public health, in general, you don’t notice it until it isn’t there,” Almeida said.
