Project Grant NE11OE000038

BUILDING A RESILIENT PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM IN EL PASO COUNTY - THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC REPRESENTED THE GREATEST HEALTH CRISIS IN OVER A CENTURY; A GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT HAD PROFOUND EFFECTS ON EVERY FACET OF SOCIETY. EL PASO COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH (EPCPH) IS POISED OPTIMALLY TO UTILIZE WHAT WAS LEARNED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH REVIEW AS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS. THE OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO BUILD AND SUPPORT THE PREVENTATIVE STRUCTURES, SYSTEMS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT A HEALTHY COMMUNITY. THE FOLLOWING CRITICAL FACTORS WERE IDENTIFIED AS INTEGRAL IN BUILDING A RESILIENT PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND ARE THE BASIS FOR THE PROPOSED STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN THIS PROPOSAL: (1) EXPANDING CAPACITY THROUGH WORKFORCE READINESS AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS, (2) STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, AND (3) CENTERING EPCPH AS THE HEALTH INFORMATION HUB FOR EL PASO COUNTY (ECP). WORKFORCE READINESS AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS: THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS APPROACH WILL BE TO LEVERAGE THE DATA RELATED TO WORKFORCE READINESS TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMAL WORKFORCE CAPACITY FOR A PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY SERVING A COUNTY OF THIS SIZE. THIS WILL INCLUDE KEY STRATEGIES TARGETING RETENTION, RECRUITMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS. OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE AN INCREASE IN THE CORE-FUNDED WORKFORCE, INCREASED DIVERSITY REFLECTING THE EPC COMMUNITY, AND INCREASED RETENTION THROUGHOUT THE AGENCY. STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: WE PROPOSE TO FURTHER EXPAND OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY'S COMPRISING EPC THROUGH THESE PRIMARY STRATEGIES; (1) STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH CROSS-SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSESS AND MONITOR THE CRITICAL AREAS OF NEED, AND (2) DEDICATED FUNDS TO SUSTAIN THE WORK OF CURRENT COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS AND TO EXPAND THE EFFORT THROUGH THE ADDITION OF COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE INCREASING THE NUMBER AND UTILIZATION OF COMMUNITY EMBEDDED HEALTH NAVIGATORS THROUGH SUSTAINING AND EXPANDING THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH NAVIGATORS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. FURTHERMORE, INCREASING COMMUNITY SUPPORTS FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH THROUGH INCREASING PARTNERSHIP CAPACITY WITH PROJECT FUNDING ALIGNED WITH SPECIFIC COMMUNITY NEEDS. EPCPH AS THE EPC INFORMATION HUB: THE INTENDED OUTCOME IS THAT THE EPCPH SITE IS A TRUSTED LOCATION TO FIND THE MOST RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMUNITY HEALTH WHILE OPERATING AS A COMMUNICATION ARM AND A CENTRALIZED SOURCE OF VALIDATED INFORMATION. AN IMPORTANT OUTCOME OF THIS EFFORT IS THAT BY BUILDING TRUST IN THE INFORMATION THE DATA IS THEN ABLE TO INFORM DATA-BASED DISCUSSIONS, AND ULTIMATELY DECISIONS. ACHIEVING THIS WILL INVOLVE CONDUCTING AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEPARTMENT, DEVELOPING AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND LEVERAGING AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM TO ATTAIN RESULTS.