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Health and Human Services Agency recommending the Board adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 031-2022 to approve the addition of one (1) Full Time Equivalent Public Health Nurse Supervisor allocation in the Health and Human Services Agency.
FUNDING: 100% Enhanced Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Funding through the term of the funding to be replaced with ongoing California Department of Public Health sustainability funds. No County match.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
The State of California is focusing its attention on reestablishing funding and minimum Public Health staffing requirements of local jurisdictions after years of a patchwork funding structure. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22, the California legislature has set aside significant long-term funding in concert with supplemental funding, designed to sustain a greater foundation of staff to enhance activities in the area of communicable disease identification/mitigation as is mandated by a number of federal and state funding sources. The majority of these public health activities require workers with advanced technical skill sets including but not limited to Public Health Nurses (PHN), Registered Nurses, Disease Investigators, Epidemiologists, Health Educators, etc. The infusion of significant numbers of nursing professionals, both Extra Help and regular allocations, and in response to funding mandates, requires a corresponding ability for practice oversight to meet legal requirements and ensure services quality and best practice implementation.
Oversight of the Communicable Disease/Clinic unit in the Public Health Division is currently lead by one (1) Permanent PHN Supervisor, while being supplemented by one (1) Acting PHN Supervisor that has been extended by six months successively, 3 times. Though this situation was not ideal, the acting PHN Supervisor has been critical, allowing the program to meet additional mandates associated with various, new one-time funding streams. The...
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