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Public Health division outlines core programs: WIC, immunizations, labs and therapeutic cannabis
Summary
Division of Public Health Services Director Ian Watt described the division’s seven bureaus, laboratory services, WIC program caseload and program areas where lawmakers will see bills — immunizations, therapeutic cannabis and environmental health.
Ian Watt, director of the Division of Public Health Services, briefed the committee on the division’s structure and core functions, emphasizing disease prevention, data-driven programming and laboratory services.
Watt said the division is organized into seven bureaus and serves as the state’s data and public-health laboratory backbone. He highlighted the WIC nutrition program, which serves more than 16,000 low-income women and children under age 5, and public-health laboratories that provide clinical and environmental testing, including well-water testing.
The division flagged bills the committee should expect this session: immunization-related measures, environmental health bills including lead-poisoning prevention and therapeutic cannabis program changes. Michael Holt, the department’s therapeutic cannabis administrator (introduced by Watt), will appear on cannabis-related bills and brief legislators about the roughly 15,000 patients and caregivers enrolled in the therapeutic cannabis program.
Watt described public health work in emergency preparedness and partnerships with the Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the State Emergency Operations Center. He said the division uses data to focus resources for prevention and response and coordinates with federally qualified health centers, rural health offices and community partners to maintain access.
