Category Archives: federal funding

27Mar / 2020

Coronavirus stimulus provides key investments in public health

US Capitol at dusk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Silver Spring, MD, March 27, 2020 — The emergency aid package passed by Congress today makes key investments in public health, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). The measure, designed to bolster US response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), includes a tenfold increase to improve the management of public health data and a substantial boost in funding for state and local health departments, including public health laboratories.

“Public health department and laboratory staff have been on the front lines helping to protect our communities from this novel disease threat. They are over-burdened and short on critical supplies,” said Scott Becker, CEO of APHL. “This stimulus package provides important funding that will help strengthen our nation’s response to the pandemic and other pressing health challenges.”

The measure includes $500 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve the management of public health data. This funding will help develop and deploy data and analytics that scale rapidly in emergencies, provide predictive capacity to identify emerging threats, ensure two-way information flow and more to better detect and monitor disease threats.

The bill also provides $1.5 billion to CDC to fund state and local health departments and their laboratories, in addition to the $950 million already provided for these activities in the first supplemental funding package. It will strengthen these critical agencies to enable them to respond nimbly to public health emergencies, including COVID-19.

“If we’ve learned anything during the first months of our COVID-19 response it’s that monitoring, testing for and tracking disease and preparing our communities for health threats are absolutely essential functions and must not be taken for granted,” said Becker. “This stimulus package includes long-overdue funding to help protect us against COVID-19 and other potential health threats.

“We look forward to the president enacting this measure and to our continued work with the administration and Congress to ensure adequate and sustained funding to protect public health.”

APHL also joined partners in issuing a statement applauding members of Congress for providing $500 million for the Data Modernization Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will transform public health data systems and save lives.

Contact: Michelle Forman at 240.485.2793 or michelle.forman@aphl.org

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The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the U.S. and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. Learn more at www.aphl.org.

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Posted by in All Posts, coronavirus, covid, covid 19, emergency response, federal funding, General, Infectious Diseases, Media Statements, novel coronavirus, Public Health Preparedness & Response, Public Policy

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27Mar / 2020

APHL and partners: COVID aid package provides much needed funding for data modernization

Data illustration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Together, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) issued the following statement in response to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

We applaud members of Congress for providing $500 million for the Data Modernization Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will transform public health data systems and save lives.

The nation faces an unprecedented challenge to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, it is critical to have a strong public health surveillance system that detects and facilitates immediate responses and containment of emerging health threats. The CDC—together with state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments—have taken important steps to improve the nation’s public health data infrastructure, but due to funding shortages, this has often been in a piecemeal approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in our nation’s outdated public health data systems and a workforce struggling to keep up. The United States currently relies on error-prone, sluggish and burdensome manual and paper-based data exchange methods such as faxing and phone calls to share critical public health data, especially with the health care sector. Simply put, the virus is moving faster than the data and when data move more slowly than diseases, the American people suffer. We are watching as our leaders struggle to make critical decisions without complete data.

An integrated, high-speed, networked health system—from laboratories to health care facilities to public health authorities—with fast and reliable data is necessary in order to protect Americans from COVID-19 and future health threats. Modernization is not just network upgrades; it is a commitment to building and sustaining a world-class data workforce and data systems that are ready for the next public health emergency. The funding provided in the CARES Act is an enterprise-level commitment to build a public health data superhighway of the 21st Century to speed the transmission of accurate, complete data.

We look forward to working with Congress to ensure sustained annual funding for CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative and with CDC in formulating its multi-year implementation plan.

Contact:  Erin Morton at 202.484.1100 or emorton@dc-crd.com

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Posted by in All Posts, coronavirus, covid, covid 19, data, federal funding, Infectious Diseases, informatics, Media Statements, novel coronavirus, Public Policy

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02Mar / 2017

New Lab Matters: making the case for a public health emergency fund

Public health threats are unpredictable. In 2015 and 2016, the emerging threats were infectious diseases, but the next threat could be a chemical spill, radiological event or natural disaster. Without a source of comprehensive funding for all potential threats, the health of the American public cannot be adequately protected.

In the winter issue of Lab Matters, our feature article examines the benefits and challenges of a permanent, sustained public health emergency fund.

Here are more highlights from this issue:

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The post New Lab Matters: making the case for a public health emergency fund appeared first on APHL Lab Blog.

Posted by in All Posts, animal feed testing, biosafety, federal funding, General, lab matters, public health laboratories

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