The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded more than $49 million in grants to improve the quality of health care and strengthen the public health infrastructure.
The grants, supported in part by the Affordable Care Act, were awarded to every state to help them perform epidemiology and laboratory work, detect and prevent healthcare-associated infections and support immunization programs.
"Investing in public health is a key part of the Affordable Care Act. It helps transform our nation's health care system from one based on when people get sick to one that prevents disease in the first place," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
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The grants will fund key state and local public health programs supported through the CDC. Of the grants awarded, $35.8 million in Prevention and Public Health Fund dollars and $3.8 million in additional CDC funding will go to increasing epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems capacity at health departments in every state, two territories, and the six largest local jurisdictions (such as Los Angeles and Philadelphia).
This is the second year that the Affordable Care Act has strengthened public health departments' capacity to fight infectious diseases through enhanced workforce training and improved information technology. Spending on the grants is double this year than the 2010 amounts.
"This funding will be used to create jobs, enabling the hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists and health information specialists in the field of infectious diseases. These are experts who often work behind the scenes in health care to fight disease and keep us healthy," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the CDC. "These grants will also make it easier for health departments to better manage and exchange important information."
Almost $9 million will be used to bolster states' abilities to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which lead to nearly 100,000 deaths every year. Funds will help states coordinate their HAI prevention activities, implement multi-facility, multi-disciplinary prevention efforts, improve monitoring of antimicrobial use and enhance electronic reporting of HAIs.
Another $600,000 will be used to aid states' immunization infrastructure and programs. These dollars will strengthen the evidence base for immunization programs and policy by supporting important evaluations on the effectiveness of various vaccines.
Recently, HHS granted ACA-funded grants for community health centers, as well.
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