TITLE
Title
DHHS-PUBLIC HEALTH: ARPA TEMPORARY SAVINGS FUND - STATE AGREEMENT ADDENDUM ACTIVITY 121 ($59,852)
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Anita Ramachandran
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BACKGROUND
Background
DHHS-Public Health has been awarded $59,852 from NCDHHS. This funding is provided through budget receipts transferred from the ARPA Temporary Savings funds made available through the NCGA 2023 Appropriations Act, HB259. This Act provides a grant to each local health department to support activities authorized under the General Aid-to-Counties Agreement Addendum including the delivery of the 10 Essential Public Services, per GS 130A-1.1. The core functions of public health (Assessment, Policy Development, Assurance), and the specific health needs or health status indicators are selected by each local health department.
Activity 121 further enhances the ability of local health departments to deliver the essential services and core functions of public health to address the specific health needs or health status indicators selected as identified by a Community Health Assessment (CHA) conducted by each local health department in North Carolina.
The 10 Essential Public Health Services are:
Assessment
1. Monitor health status to identify community health problems.
2. Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.
Policy Development
3. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.
4. Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.
5. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
Assurance
6. Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
7. Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable.
8. Assure a competent public health and personal health care workforce.
9. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population health services.
10. Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.
Funding may be used for any public health program or purpose, any locally identified need or current health status indicator, to support the delivery of the core functions of the 10 Essential Public Health Services. Use of these funds may not supplant current state, federal or local funding.
The allocated funds will be invested in the following manner:
• $10,000 - During the Public Health Accreditation cycle, the Health Department must complete a HIPAA Security and Risk Assessment, and the County has secured TEGO as vendor to complete this Risk Assessment. The Scope of Work includes the discovery and scoping of physical and electronic Protected Health Information in the environment; assessment of administrative, physical and technical safeguards; technical vulnerability and compliance scans of Public Health devices; identification and prioritization of HIPAA Security Control gap; and compliance consulting to address the gaps and reporting. This project is being coordinated with our IT Department.
• $24,652 Computer Upgrades for Environmental Health, Administration, Health Education and Billing as needed during FY2025.
• $2,700 NWN Carousel to create reports to provide weekly and/or monthly call reporting for the agency phone menu. The reports would consist of a custom script to include metrics on each of the main options 0-9 for Public Health Line ext. 777.
• $7,000- Investing in newly hired staff organizational development tool known as Tilt 365 assessment which will help our organization pinpoint leadership strengths and developmental needs, ensuring targeted growth. This tool identifies key personality traits and behavioral tendencies, to optimize team dynamics and enhancing decision-making. By understanding individual and collective profiles, our department will strategically foster leadership skills to fulfill goals and objectives as well as driving staff success and adaptability. This project is a recommendation from the Region 5 ARPA Workforce Development initiative, and it is aligned with the five Public Health Foundational Capabilities.
• $6,000 Community Health Assessment Report design and layout which includes creating/modifying infographics and data visualizations, editing the content for readability and design consistency, producing and developing final document with accompanying promotional graphics.
• $9,500 Resource XRF (X-ray fluorescence) Lead Paint analyzer which provides a better way to identify the presence of lead paint on multiple surfaces prior to repair, restoration or painting.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
General Fund
$59,852 Increase in State and Federal Revenue
$59,852 Increase in Appropriation to Health and Human Services
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS AND NO COUNTY MATCH REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approve the increase of $59,852 in State and Federal Revenue and increase the FY2024-25 appropriation to Health and Human Services by the same amount to allocated funds received from NCDHHS to support the Public Health 10 Essential Services.
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