(These are the informal notes taken by a Friend of Public Health, not authoritative minutes.) More cuts come to vital programs, this time a cut to the county’s funding for the mental health provider at the school-based health clinics. Micro grants are providing boosts to the county’s youth, longer-term funding solutions at the state and federal level are necessary to end the constant scramble for public health funding.

(These notes were taken by a Friend of Public Health and should not be confused with authoritative minutes.) Public Health jurisdictions do a lot with less because PH is the only one to do the work in this rural area, and the populations here have the least access to services. PH is facing a combination of flat, declining, and eliminated funding streams. The clinical and environmental services fill unmet needs. More residents are relying on PH for essential services: more seniors are homebound and require visiting services, more unhoused people require more mobile outreach, and there are increased behavioral health and substance abuse support. PH employees are trusted and known and have reach in places that other healthcare systems can’t.

In April PH did not have the bottom line because they were waiting to see exactly how the legislation would be implemented. PH statewide has taken a $21 million cut of FPHS funding. This was the base funding to make sure the capabilities were there for providing all the basic services and for being ready for disease tracking and prevention.

As I always say, these are my notes, not authoritative minutes. I am always open to corrections, and this week I have a correction to the JH Commissioner's meeting notes from March that relate to the discussion of the proposed JH levy lift.