Photo Courtesy of Sen. Gillibrand
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
By Forum Staff
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) recently pushed for the implementation of Health Force, her multibillion-dollar public health legislation passed in the American Rescue Plan earlier this year.
Gillibrand noted that she successfully secured nearly $8 billion for her Health Force legislation—the Health Force, Resilience Force, And Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act—to create a robust public health workforce to aid vaccine distribution and mobilize community leaders to improve health outcomes in their communities. Now, as COVID-19 Delta variant rates surge across the nation and cases are likely to rise significantly in the fall and winter months, it is imperative that vulnerable communities and health leaders have the resources and capability to distribute vaccines equitably and efficiently, and trusted messengers with whom they can talk through their concerns, Gillibrand said. In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gillibrand pushed to ensure implementation of her ARP-passed provisions behind Health Force in Section 2501, the public health workforce provision, aligned with its original intent, including the implementation of labor standards and wages no less than $15 an hour plus benefits, and targeted hiring in underserved communities.
Over the last decade, the nation’s public health workforce lost nearly 40,000 jobs, while state and local budgets were slashed by 16 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Hospitals across the country have been facing a nursing shortage throughout the pandemic, making it difficult for hospitals to meet rising patient needs. In the Capital Region, two of the largest health care employers have stated they are struggling to recruit nurses – a shortage that is only expected to grow. Researchers project that by 2030 New York State could be short as many as 39,000 nurses, leaving hospitals, nursing homes, and patients in jeopardy. To make matters more urgent, it is expected that 80 percent-85 percent of the population would need to be vaccinated by the end of 2021 to prevent a revival in case numbers to 2020 levels. The pandemic has also magnified the systemic health inequities rural, Black, Latino and Indigenous communities have faced for far too long that can often lead to anxiety and distrust toward medical treatment, including vaccine hesitancy.
As the United States continues to battle the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuild the economy, the Health Force, as intended, would support overburdened state and local health departments, provide jobs for thousands of unemployed Americans, build public health capacity in underserved communities, and directly support the nation’s efforts to recover. When implemented properly, these community-based public health jobs are known to improve local health outcomes, including vaccination rates, and would help ensure every community is positioned to meet its most pressing needs with trusted partners. Gillibrand is calling for the administration to prioritize equitable hiring and service in low-income and underserved “focal communities,” to pay at least 15 dollars an hour plus benefits, and implement targeted hiring plans that prioritize hiring workers from socially vulnerable communities.
“Now that we have secured this bill in Congress, we must revisit implementation standards and use this opportunity to build trust in community-centered health care and build a stronger public health system,” Gillibrand said.
