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Dear Senators Smith and Booker:
The undersigned organizations applaud your introduction of the Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act. The program authorized by this legislation would strengthen and rebuild the depleted governmental public health workforce, which serves as the front lines of the COVID-19 response.
The public health workforce is the backbone of our nation’s governmental public health system at the county, city, state, and tribal levels. These skilled professionals are the primary resource necessary to deliver public health programs and services: they lead efforts to ensure the tracking and surveillance of infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, prepare for and respond to natural or man-made disasters, and ensure the safety of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Health departments employ full-time nurses, behavioral health staff, community health workers, environmental health workers, epidemiologists, health educators, nutritionists, lab workers and others who use their unique skill sets to do all they can to keep people in their communities healthy and safe. While the current COVID-19 outbreak has raised the profile of public health workers, they have a long track record of protecting our communities out of the spotlight, preventing illness and harm.
While the importance of these professionals cannot be understated, health departments across the country face significant workforce challenges to maintaining robust staffing levels and recruiting and retaining needed professionals. The public health workforce was hit hard by the Great Recession, and whereas much of the rest of the public sector workforce has recovered or grown, local and state health departments have not. In fact, local and state health departments have lost nearly a quarter (23%) of their workforce since 2008, shedding over 50,000 jobs across the country. The deficiency is compounded by the age of the public health workforce – nearly 55% of public health professionals are over the age of 45 and almost a quarter of health department staff are eligible for retirement. Between those who plan to retire and those who plan to pursue opportunities in the private sector (often due to low wages), nearly half of the local and state health department workforce might leave over the next several years. We need to do more to get the right people into these jobs and keep them there.
This is why the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program is so important. It will help incentivize new and recent graduates to join the governmental public health workforce, encourage them to stay in these roles, and strengthen the public health workforce as a whole. It would provide up to $35,000 per year in loan repayment in exchange for a two-year commitment to their important work. New staff and volunteers are being brought into the field for the COVID-19 response. This program would provide an added incentive to keep them long term and help ensure that their experience is harnessed and available before the next crisis hits. Thank you for your commitment to our nation’s public health.
Again, thank you for introducing the Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act. We look forward to working with you to make the program a reality.
Please contact Eli Briggs, Senior Government Affairs Director at the National Association of County and City Health Officials, at [email protected], with any questions.
Sincerely,
National Organizations
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine
American Association on Health and Disability
American College of Clinical Pharmacy
American Dental Education Association
American Geriatrics Society
American Lung Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Community Health Nursing Educators
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Public Health Nurses
Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN)
Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
CAEAR Coalition
Coalition of National Health Education Organizations
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Eta Sigma Gamma
Families USA
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
Impetus - Let's Get Started LLC
International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium
Lakeshore Foundation
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Black Nurses Association
National Board for Certified Counselors
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Environmental Health Association
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Hispanic Medical Association
National WIC Association
Prevent Blindness
Prevention Institute
Rural Nurses Organization
Safe States Alliance
School-Based Health Alliance
Spina Bifida Association
The AIDS Institute
The Gerontological Society of America
The Society for Public Health Education
Trust for America's Health
Vaccinate Your Family
Local/State Organizations
ARCH Community Health Coalition
Arizona Local Health Officer Association (ALHOA)
Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, Inc. (AOHC)
Baltimore City Health Department
Bluegrass Community Health Center (KY)
Bourbon County Health Department (KY)
Bracken County Health Department (KY)
Breathitt County Health Department (KY)
Bryant Family Medicine (KY)
Buffalo Trace District Health Department (KY)
Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials
Fairview Community Health Center (KY)
Florence Medical Group (KY)
Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Giles Family Counseling Services (KY)
Greenup County Health Department (KY)
Harrison County Home & Public Health (IA)
Indiana State Association of City and County Health Officials
Kent County Health Department (MD)
Kentucky Health Departments Association
KentuckyCare
Kentucky Public Health Association
Kentucky Rural Health Association
Knox County Health Department (KY)
Lexington-Fayette County Health Department (KY)
Lincoln County Health Department (KY)
Local Public Health Association of Minnesota
Marshall County Health Department (KY)
Maryland Association of County Health Officers
Massachusetts Health Officers Association
Mercy Health- Marcum and Wallace Hospital (KY)
Michigan Association for Local Public Health
Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies
Montgomery County Health Department (KY)
Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors
New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials
New York State Association of County Health Officials
Oldham County Health Department (KY)
Powell County Health Department (KY)
Primary Care Centers of Eastern Kentucky
Public Health - Idaho North Central District
Queen Anne's County Department of Health (MD)
Three Rivers District Health Department (KY)
Tulsa Health Department (OK)
University of Maryland School of Nursing
Washington Thoracic Society
Washington Department of Health
Whitley County Health Department (KY)