Health care
BY BEN THOMPSON
APH managing federal funding losses
What’s next
Federal adjustments can more heavily affect APH given the department’s large share of grant-supported work, with less than half of its more than 640 staff positions funded locally. Sturrup said, in a worst-case scenario, APH could lose funding for 328 full-time employees. She said a bright spot amid recent changes has been their ability to avoid cutting any workers so far. Partnering with human resources officials, APH has been able to reassign grant-funded staff to other positions within the department or elsewhere with the city. That process has ensured no lost employees, even if staff aren’t placed in their desired roles if public health capacity is reduced. APH and related resident services could be in line for further changes based on federal funding decisions, including the passage of a new federal budget later this year.
In total, APH expects millions of dollars in losses that translate to various programs and dozens of staff positions. Sturrup said the losses will affect overall community health preparedness and response efforts. For example, APH is losing capacity to conduct high-cost measles case tracking and screenings for a variety of conditions.
Austin Public Health officials have faced local effects of funding cuts at the federal level. Impacts include current losses in grant funding and expected future losses through ongoing budget deliberations. APH Director Adrienne Sturrup said the changes have affected employee morale, services and leave the community more vulnerable to disease.
APH funding Many APH programs and staff positions are funded through grants.
314.5
$39.44M
328.5
$92.07M
City budget Grant funding
$131.5M Fiscal year 2024-25 budget:
Employees*
*FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT, OR FTE, POSITION COUNT BASED ON TOTAL EMPLOYEE WORKLOAD
SOURCE: AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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