Kentucky Uses PHIG to Give 61 Local Health Departments the Resources they Need to Serve Communities Well
Success StoriesAshley Carroll, Workforce Training Program Administrator at the Kentucky Department for Public Health, shares how Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) funding is strengthening the public health workforce across all 61 of Kentucky’s local health departments. Kentucky allocated PHIG funds directly to local health departments for capacity-building and public health transformation activities.
Local health departments have used this funding to secure needed HR, legal, and IT support, and they’ve invested in community outreach strategies. The state health department also partnered with the Kentucky Health Departments Association (KHDA) on workforce development initiatives, including a tuition assistance program that around 90 public health staff statewide have already taken advantage of. Providing funding and workforce development support to local health departments has allowed local health departments to improve their operations, boost staff retention, and give employees access to the higher education pathways and training they need to advance within their departments.
As Ashley puts it, just like the oxygen mask on an airplane, we have to invest in our workforce first so they can better serve their communities.
Video Transcript
The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
How have you used PHIG funding?
Within my role, I focus more on the local health department side. We partnered with the Kentucky Health Department’s Association, or KHDA, and we allocated some PHIG funding to them to use on different workforce development initiatives and capacity-building efforts at the local level.
What did they invest in?
They use funding on things like tuition assistance, professional development, training, HR and legal support, financial support, as well as IT support at the local level. Additionally, we allocated some PHIG funds to the local health departments to focus on capacity-building initiatives and public health transformation activities at the local level. A lot of health departments have been using that funding to support their community outreach events. For example, I know one local health department used that funding to throw a “Hula into Health” community event, which was super fun.
What’s been the impact?
In Kentucky, we have 120 counties, and each of those counties are covered by a health department, so we have 61 local health departments. We have independent health departments, single-county health departments, and district health departments. In the tuition assistance program, I believe around 90 individuals across the state have utilized tuition assistance through KHDA.
Why is this work so important?
Going back to school helps with that sustainability aspect and preparing the next wave of leaders to take on higher roles within their health department. Higher education allows them to further expand their tool belt when they go back to school and feel better prepared to step into those management and supervisor positions. I think having tuition assistance available to local health department staff has also helped with the retention aspect. Tuition assistance hasn’t always been available for individuals, so I think it also just helps with that retention piece.
How does workforce support translate into benefits for communities?
It’s important to put that focus on public health staff because, in order to better serve our communities, we first have to focus on ourselves and better ourselves so that we can fully give back to and support our communities. I think through the tuition assistance — and honestly just PHIG in general — what these funds give to staff is a feeling of investment in them. I like the analogy of when you’re on an airplane, the flight attendants always ask you to put your oxygen mask on before helping others. I think it’s the same in public health. We have to help and invest in our workforce so that we can better serve our communities.