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Graham County health department wins board approval to pursue multiple state and federal grants
Summary
The county health department obtained board approval to pursue or accept three intergovernmental agreements covering COVID-19/respiratory surveillance, Title V maternal and child health, and the State Opioid Response; officials said the funds will help cover staff salaries and program work.
Brian Douglas, of the Graham County Health Department, told the Board of Supervisors on Monday that the department sought the board’s approval to pursue and execute several intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) and grant-funded scopes of work.
“We're requesting approval of the COVID-nineteen epidemiology and laboratory capacity IGA,” Douglas said, adding the IGA was originally for $600,000 and that “I believe they've negotiated … down to 300,000.” He said the COVID-era grants largely ended June 30 but this IGA runs through June 30, 2026, and would help split salary costs for several health department positions.
Douglas also asked the board to approve a five-year Title V maternal and child health IGA covering the county’s family planning program and said “there's no change in funding from last year.” Finally he described a State Opioid Response scope of work with the Arizona Department of Health Services that had previously been planned as a contracted project but will now be administered in-house.
The board voted to approve the grant applications and agreements. A supervisor thanked the health department for pursuing the funds in what one commissioner described as a “lean year.”
Why it matters: the COVID-19/ELC funds and the Title V and opioid-response awards help the county retain staff and maintain public-health services — including respiratory illness surveillance and family-planning services — through the next fiscal year.
Details and context: Douglas said the COVID-19/ELC IGA covers respiratory or epidemic illnesses beyond COVID-19 and confirmed it could be used for illnesses that “have the ability to create infection within the respiratory system.” He described the funding as coming from the federal budget process and noted uncertainty about the final statewide amount. For Title V he described the award as roughly $100,000 for the county. On the opioid contract, Douglas said the county had previously planned to subcontract the work but will now perform the program in-house.
Board action: Supervisors moved, seconded and voted in favor of each agreement during the meeting; no roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes provided.
What’s next: Department staff will execute the IGAs and incorporate the funds into FY26 staffing and program plans.
