Latest news with #MonongaliaCountyHealthDepartment
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Funding uncertainty has MCHD in 'difficult financial straits'
Jun. 2—MORGANTOWN — In the best of times, annual budgets are uncertain. They're well-educated guesses — estimates, if you prefer the term. You look at what you expect to get, weigh that against what you expect to spend — and hope nothing happens along the way that negatively skews either number beyond reconciliation. But what if you have no real way of knowing what to expect ? That's where leadership with the Monongalia County Health Department often is finding itself. MCHD Executive Director Anthony DeFelice has estimated that up to 40 % of the health department's budget originates from federal sources. As with most sectors dependent on federal dollars, there's considerable uncertainty in public health. The MCHD launched into an unprecedented budgeting process knowing some of those dollars are secure, some have already been eliminated and some are complete unknowns. "The IAP Grant is the immunization grant. It's just been a given every year that you're getting that. We've had no indication. They stopped the IAP grant and terminated it, " county Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins said. "We don't know if the Vaccines for Children (Program) is going to exist next year. Those are significant funding sources that help pay for some of our nursing staff. With this budget, we didn't include them. If we get them, great. But we just don't know." And that, DeFelice explained, is how MCHD is approaching this budgeting process. If leadership is confident the funds are secure, they're included. If there's any uncertainty, the dollars aren't being budgeted. DeFelice described the process as "very thorough " and "very conservative." Chief Financial Officer Devan Smith explained that the health department's program managers and executive team have gone meticulously through each line item in an effort to determine where reductions can be made. Smith said budgeting in public health is already both art and science in that it often requires as much intuition as accounting. "When you add in deep uncertainty about whether core functions of the organization will continue to be funded, it not only makes providing estimates difficult, but also means that you have to question what services will be kept or lost under different scenarios, " he said. "What made this budget year so hard for us was not the mechanical process of performing calculations or reviewing expenses. It was weighing the people element — -potential reductions in the services we are able to provide to families in our community or impacts to employees we have worked with for years that may no longer have a job." Among the measures under consideration are fee increases. An initial example is a 10 % bump in fees for the health department's dental program. A review of if, where and when MCHD can continue to offer free and reduced-cost services is under consideration. The health department also plans to keep all vacant positions unfilled. Further, some programming considered "enhanced " offerings — meaning beyond the core functions of environmental health, communicable disease, immunization, threat preparedness and community health promotion — are being scaled back as only core, or basic, functions are eligible for state and county support. Huggins offered an example. "The biggest thing that is changing is that our family planning clinic is going to go from five days a week down to a single day a week. The biggest reason for that is loss of funding streams that were supporting our basic services. Family planning is an enhanced service by state code. Family planning, unfortunately, loses money. It just does, " he said, explaining the program lost somewhere around $150, 000 in the 2025 fiscal year. "There is potential with family planning that we may have to discontinue services completely if the funding stream stops. According to the DHHS budget that's been proposed by the administration, family planning is on the list of services that is to be eliminated — not moved to a different service, eliminated from funding. If that occurs, we'll look at everything we can because we realize, for a lot of people, this is a critical service."
Dominion Post
02-06-2025
- Health
- Dominion Post
Funding uncertainty has MCHD in 'dangerous financial straits'
MORGANTOWN — In the best of times, annual budgets are uncertain. They're well-educated guesses – estimates, if you prefer the term. You look at what you expect to get, weigh that against what you expect to spend – and hope nothing happens along the way that negatively skews either number beyond reconciliation. But what if you have no real way of knowing what to expect? That's where leadership with the Monongalia County Health Department often is finding itself. MCHD Executive Director Anthony DeFelice has estimated that up to 40% of the health department's budget originates from federal sources. As with most sectors dependent on federal dollars, there's considerable uncertainty in public health. The MCHD launched into an unprecedented budgeting process knowing some of those dollars are secure, some have already been eliminated and some are complete unknowns. 'The IAP Grant is the immunization grant. It's just been a given every year that you're getting that. We've had no indication. They stopped the IAP grant and terminated it,' county Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins said. 'We don't know if the Vaccines for Children (Program) is going to exist next year. Those are significant funding sources that help pay for some of our nursing staff. With this budget, we didn't include them. If we get them, great. But we just don't know.' And that, DeFelice explained, is how MCHD is approaching this budgeting process. If leadership is confident the funds are secure, they're included. If there's any uncertainty, the dollars aren't being budgeted. DeFelice described the process as 'very thorough' and 'very conservative.' Chief Financial Officer Devan Smith explained that the health department's program managers and executive team have gone meticulously through each line item in an effort to determine where reductions can be made. Smith said budgeting in public health is already both art and science in that it often requires as much intuition as accounting. 'When you add in deep uncertainty about whether core functions of the organization will continue to be funded, it not only makes providing estimates difficult, but also means that you have to question what services will be kept or lost under different scenarios,' he said. 'What made this budget year so hard for us was not the mechanical process of performing calculations or reviewing expenses. It was weighing the people element –- potential reductions in the services we are able to provide to families in our community or impacts to employees we have worked with for years that may no longer have a job.' Among the measures under consideration are fee increases. An initial example is a 10% bump in fees for the health department's dental program. A review of if, where and when MCHD can continue to offer free and reduced-cost services is under consideration. The health department also plans to keep all vacant positions unfilled. Further, some programming considered 'enhanced' offerings – meaning beyond the core functions of environmental health, communicable disease, immunization, threat preparedness and community health promotion – are being scaled back as only core, or basic, functions are eligible for state and county support. Huggins offered an example. 'The biggest thing that is changing is that our family planning clinic is going to go from five days a week down to a single day a week. The biggest reason for that is loss of funding streams that were supporting our basic services. Family planning is an enhanced service by state code. Family planning, unfortunately, loses money. It just does,' he said, explaining the program lost somewhere around $150,000 in the 2025 fiscal year. 'There is potential with family planning that we may have to discontinue services completely if the funding stream stops. According to the DHHS budget that's been proposed by the administration, family planning is on the list of services that is to be eliminated – not moved to a different service, eliminated from funding. If that occurs, we'll look at everything we can because we realize, for a lot of people, this is a critical service.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Monongalia Quick Response Team gives out free Narcan in Morgantown
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — For the fifth year, the Monongalia County Quick Response Team (QRT) gave away free naloxone throughout the city. On Friday, April 18, the Mon County QRT distributed free naloxone, better known as its brand name of Narcan, at WVU's Mountainlair, the McDonald's in Sabraton and the Monongalia County Courthouse to help reach as many people as possible. The Mon County QRT is funded by grants secured through the Monongalia County Health Department. Morgantown announces new city manager 12 News spoke with the QRT's coordinator, Brittany Irick, on the importance of distributing the medication for free. 'West Virginia has led the nation in overdose deaths for quite some time now. We are seeing a decline, which is absolutely amazing, but we want to continue to see that, and we want to continue to give out Narcan and educate people that Narcan can save lives,' Irick said. 'It can affect anyone. People often think that they might know someone who is using, or they might not encounter someone, but you never know, whenever you could just show up somewhere and somebody is unconscious, and no one knows what's going on, and it could be an overdose.' If you're interested in free naloxone or would like training on how to distribute the medication, you can visit the Monongalia County Health Department's website for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health department sees first direct impact of federal funding upheaval
Mar. 28—MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County Health Department Chief Financial Officer Devan Smith was prepared to come into Thursday morning's board of health meeting and report MCHD was so-far unscathed by the upheaval in federal funding initiated by the Trump administration. Then, on Tuesday, federal health officials announced billions in COVID-related funds were being stopped. The following day, the health department was notified by the National Association of County & City Health Officials that a contract through which MCHD was working with the health department in Fairfax County, Va to better engage healthcare facilities regarding infection prevention and control had been canceled. As MCHD was working as a subcontractor, it must now go back to NACCHO to get paid for the work performed since Jan. 1. The $90, 000 contract was set to expire at the end of June. Smith said he's identified additional grants that he believes could be in jeopardy. In those examples, MCHD is a subrecipient of funds passing through the state. Those grants would total about $83, 000 to the health department. "We've been talking to folks at the state to see if they're hearing any notifications about rescission of funding at their level, because it would have the same impact, essentially, " he said. "As far as I'm aware, they have not received any formal rescission of funding that we receive as a subrecipient." MCHD Executive Director Anthony DeFelice said the health department is also closely following news that a funding freeze tied to Title X (family planning services) has been put in place. He said the health department has yet to hear anything on that front. "These are the things that we're going to have to be monitoring, " DeFelice said. "We're going to get some of these notices. We're proactively checking the rest of our contracts." DeFelice previously estimated that 40 % or more of the health department's budget consists of federal grant funding coming from a variety of sources to fund the department's numerous offerings. "It's really not clear how this is going to play out, because Congress hasn't laid out clear policy priorities within their continuing resolution ... Normally when there's an appropriations act or there's a continuing resolution, there's instructions from Congress about how that funding is to be spent, and this continuing resolution doesn't have that, " Smith explained. "So, that allows more discretion than is normal for this administration to choose and direct funding toward specific policy priorities. I don't think that has really seen itself play out yet." Asked if the impacts to the health department could be substantial enough to force program cuts or staff reductions, Smith said he didn't have any indication that the immediate impact would be that substantial. Even so, he said the health department is "going to be looking hard at what we can afford, " as it prepares to present its 2025-'26 operating budget in the coming weeks. "I firmly believe that we are going to continue to serve public health in a really meaningful and awesome way. We're going to have some new things that we might even still be able to work on with community health promotion, " Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins said. "But some of the services that we end up offering may change." Huggins noted the health department will add a revenue source in April, when it begins conducting occupational drug testing for employers.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Monongalia County reports uptick in flu cases
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Flu season is in full swing across the United States, and West Virginia is no exception, especially in Monongalia County. Health officials at the Monongalia County Health Department say that flu numbers are concentrated in school-age children, and that they've heard of heavy absences in the schools. Program Manager for Infection Control and Disease Prevention at Monongalia County Health Department Edward Abbott said this uptick in flu is a trend regionally throughout the surrounding counties, and that the prevalent variant is the more severe 'Flu A'. Doddridge County Elementary Students sell sweet treats to learn about money 'We feel confident that we can get through this but the weather changes [and] being inside are definitely promoting it,' Abbott said. 'Good hand hygiene, mask wearing with those that are sick or showing signs and symptoms are preventative.' The department is still offering flu vaccines for children six months and up, and they recommend that you get one if you haven't already even though it is later in the season. They also remind those who are sick to stay home, and that employers should be aware that the illness is going around. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
