State epidemiologist outlines data modernization, violent‑death reporting and grant plans

Tracy Miller, the state epidemiologist and section director for Health Statistics and Performance at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, told the Appropriations Committee that her unit will maintain 24 full‑time equivalent positions while continuing data modernization efforts and seeking federal grants to expand surveillance work.

Miller told lawmakers: "I am the state epidemiologist here in North Dakota and I am also the section director for our health statistics and performance." She described four units in the section — data modernization, health statistics/special projects and health analytics, surveillance and data management, and vital records — and summarized staffing, recent projects and near‑term priorities.

The update matters because the section provides the state's core public‑health data services: maintaining birth and death registration, producing analytic reports used by state and local partners, running surveys such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and operating the state's violent death reporting system (NVDRS). Funding and federal grant awards will determine whether the section can add temporary staff to complete proposed workload tied to new grants.

Miller said the section's pay‑rolled complement for the upcoming biennium is 24 FTEs plus three temporary positions, with one current vacancy in a CSTE fellowship placement. She listed…