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• Trump Clawed Back Billions in Federal Health Grants. Here’s How Much California is Losing

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Earlier this week the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly canceled more than $12 million in federal grants that states were using to help track infectious diseases and cover mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues. 

While the funding was awarded during the COVID pandemic, Congress allowed states to use the money for other public health investments.

Earlier this week the Outpost reached out to the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services to see how the cuts will impact local services. At the time, a department spokesperson said staff was aware of the cuts but still working to understand the local implications.

Today, the county was notified that federal COVID funds intended to last for the next year have instead been terminated, effective this past Tuesday, March 24. 

“The abrupt end to this funding means we are letting go of seven extra help staff, including two Public Health Nurses, two Community Health Outreach Workers, one Medical Office Assistant and two Communicable Disease Investigators,” Public Health Director Sofia Pereira said via email. “Their last day will be April 4.”

The county will also lose another $1.2 million in funding that was intended to go toward its new public health laboratory. Pereira said, “[W]e will no longer be able to upgrade our old lab equipment with new, needed equipment that would save staff countless hours and strengthen our regional response to diseases. “

[UPDATE: DHHS Public Information Specialist Christine Messinger followed up after this post was published to clarify that the cancellation of this federal funding will actually result in more than $3 million in cuts to the county’s Public Health branch right off the bat. “The $1.2 million was planned just for the construction of the new lab, not including other equipment, salaries of permanent staff, etc., and more cuts may be coming,” Messinger said.]

State health departments were taken by surprise early this week when they received notices saying the funds were being terminated, effective immediately. State health officials predicted that thousands of health department employees and contract workers across the county could lose their jobs, according to the New York Times. “Some predicted the loss of as much as 90 percent of staff from some infectious disease teams,” the paper reported.

Pereira said such cuts will be costly here in Humboldt County.

“Public Health has been historically underfunded, and while this funding came about during COVID, we’ve been able to use these COVID dollars to bolster and help maintain public health infrastructure,” she said. “This funding has helped support responses, not only to COVID, but other infectious diseases as well, including our measles exposure in May and the Shigella outbreak in September.”