Humboldt County public health leaders outline services, report a $249,000 operating loss and request $20,000 increase

Humboldt County public health officials presented an overview of services, recent activity and a three-year comparative financial report to the Board of Supervisors and asked the board to increase its support by $20,000 for the next fiscal year.

Kristen Sewell, director of public health, described core activities organized around the CDC’s 10 essential public health services, including disease investigation, immunizations, nursing visits, WIC and home-visitation programs. Sewell said the department conducts community health assessments (nearly 200 responses in 2023), runs outreach such as school dental screenings and immunization audits, and responds to public-health incidents such as measles alerts and avian influenza preparedness.

AJ Mason, chief financial officer for Humboldt County Memorial Hospital, presented comparative financials for the public health department. Mason reported total operating expenses for fiscal year 2024 of about $487,000 and total revenues of roughly $261,000, producing an operating loss of about $225,000. After allocating indirect overhead as required on the Medicare cost report, Mason said total reported loss for fiscal year 2024 was about $249,000. He explained that wages and benefits are the largest expense and that some indirect costs are allocated to public health by Medicare rules.

Sewell said some grant lines are competitive and not guaranteed; she cited an example where an "elder bridge" grant yielded $1,010,000 less than requested last cycle. She also described that immunization volumes have declined from COVID-era highs and that the county maintains about an 84 percent childhood vaccination rate against a 90 percent state goal. The department serves underinsured children through the VFC program and performs outreach with local schools for transportation to vaccination clinics.

Sewell and Mason emphasized that the hospital bears the financial burden when public health operates at a loss because the public health department is administered under the hospital umbrella in Humboldt County. The presenters requested an increase of $20,000 in county support for programs that directly impact residents. The board did not take an immediate vote on the request; supervisors asked clarifying questions about funding lines, state-level public-health regionalization and the potential effects on local mental-health services.

No formal action on the county allocation was recorded at the meeting; staff said they expect to continue discussions during budget deliberations.