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Cochise Health and Social Services seeks extension of ADHS testing grant; about $176,931 remains
Summary
Cochise County health officials described an intergovernmental agreement with Arizona Department of Health Services that would be extended to allow spending of remaining SARS-CoV-2 testing funds. The funds have supported diagnostic testing through Chiricahua Community Health Centers.
Cochise Health and Social Services on Tuesday described an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Arizona Department of Health Services to extend the agreement’s end date and allow the county to spend remaining funds for COVID-19 testing.
Alicia Thompson, health director for Cochise Health and Social Services, told the Board of Supervisors the amendment would extend an existing IGA and that the state required renaming of the agreement for its accounting system. Thompson said the county currently has “approximately a $176,931 remaining in this IGA to spend,” and that the money has funded community diagnostic testing through Chiricahua Community Health Centers.
The IGA discussion referenced a governmental agreement described in the meeting as IGA 20 21-055, later renamed CTR059101, to extend the agreement through Feb. 28, 2023. Thompson said the rescission of the governor’s COVID-19 emergency order did not alter the county’s ability to use the IGA funds for testing; “it has been, but it has that does not affect our intergovernmental agreement,” she said.
Why it matters: the amendment would allow the county additional time to expend state-provided testing funds originally awarded during the pandemic.
Board process and remarks
A motion and a second were made on the IGA amendment during the meeting; no roll-call vote or final approval was recorded in the public transcript segment. During the same discussion Supervisor Crosby asked questions about vaccines and natural immunity that the county attorney cautioned were outside the posted agenda topic for the testing-related grant. The county attorney warned that further off-topic questioning could amount to an open-meeting-law violation.
Background
Thompson said the funds supported community diagnostic testing through Chiricahua Community Health Centers and that the extension and renaming are administrative steps to align the grant with the state’s accounting system. The exact remaining grant balance was described as “approximately $176,931.”
