Friday, June 9, 2023
6/9/2023
Across the state, COVID-19 continues to tax an already overworked and underfunded system as public health remains at the forefront of the pandemic efforts. Many public health workers are leaving the field from burnout, stress, and fatigue. Now, more than ever, it is imperative to improve the public health infrastructure and support efforts to develop, train, and sustain a strong public health workforce. With unprecedented funding opportunities and external momentum, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has an expanded role in bringing public health partners together. The OSDH prioritized and based most of the proposed strategies in this NOFO response to align with the Public Health Foundation Foundational Capabilities. The purpose of this funding request, in the amount of $25,806,647, is to increase the OSDH's workforce, foundational capabilities, and data modernization through strengthening and developing the public health workforce of Oklahoma. This will be accomplished through increasing funding for hiring critical positions, strengthening ongoing transformation programs, improving agency systems, putting in place policies and programming to improve sustainability going forward, updating key permanent systems, improving the agency’s PHAB accreditation process, building upon current data modernization efforts, and enhancing the data infrastructure to increase systems. Expected outcomes for this proposed project are increased hiring of diverse staff; increased size and capabilities of the public health workforce; stronger public health foundational capabilities; increased reach of public health services; improved organizational systems and processes; accelerated prevention, preparedness, and response to emerging threats; increased availability and use of public health data; and reduced deaths as a result of pandemic or emergency and improve other public health outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
