Ohio Department of Health seeks major lab and children—s health investments in 2026–27 budget

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, told the House Health Committee the department's budget request under the governor—s executive budget is intended to strengthen disease detection, children—s services and other public-health infrastructure across Ohio.

Lab funding and capacity

Vanderhoff called the state public-health laboratory "the backbone for disease detection, monitoring, and response," saying the lab provides unique services — including newborn screening for over 40 conditions, rabies testing of animal specimens and bioterrorism-designated testing — and that it has been largely flat-funded since 2013. He said the lab now relies on federal grants for roughly two-thirds of operations and asked for $9.9 million in FY26 and $14.8 million in FY27 for equipment, maintenance and staffing to ensure continued testing capacity and to position Ohio for additional federal grant support. "Without this increase, vital services ... will be compromised," he told committee members.

Children—s vision and dental initiatives

Vanderhoff proposed a new student eye-exam program (referred to in testimony as "Ohio SEAS" or the Ohio student eye exam program) aimed at K–3 students who fail schoolvision screenings and lack access to follow-up care. He said the program is estimated to serve about 33,000 children per year and requested $22.5 million in FY26 and $17.4 million in FY27 to cover clinical staff, equipment, glasses and an IT data system to track follow-up care. ODH described four delivery models — mobile units, roll-in teams, school-based centers and referral-based follow-up — and emphasized that parental consent would be required for exams and follow-up.

ODH also requested $3 million per year to pilot mobile dental units and portable dental programs in nine dental-health-professional-shortage counties (Clinton, Crawford, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Monroe, Noble, Paulding and Washington). Vanderhoff said the mobile units would provide preventive services and basic dental care for children; the department envisions dentists, dental hygienists and potentially dental technicians or therapists to staff the units.

School-based health centers

The budget includes $10 million per fiscal year to support up to 23 new school-based health centers and to expand services for up to nine existing centers. Vanderhoff cited 2024 numbers showing more than 17,000 students in 27 counties received over 33,000 SBHC services from April to December and said centers can deliver primary care, dental, vision and behavioral health services with minimal classroom disruption.

Nursing-home quality and ownership stability

Vanderhoff reviewed initiatives stemming from the governor—s nursing-home quality and accountability task force, including PRAP (Provider Resources and Education Program) and an expanded surveyor workforce aimed at improving compliance and care in long-term-care facilities. He urged a statutory change to prohibit sale-leaseback transactions that transfer real-estate ownership to out-of-state investors when those transfers undermine stable local ownership and patient safety, and described several recent examples in Ohio where sale-leaseback deals preceded facility decline. Committee members pressed him on whether ownership alone explains failures; Vanderhoff said the department would provide more details and examples.

Tobacco prevention, lead and other priorities

Vanderhoff asked for an additional $2.5 million annually for tobacco-prevention and cessation work focused on youth and underserved counties, and said the proposed budget includes measures to strengthen enforcement of the Tobacco 21 law and consider a statewide flavored e-liquid ban. He proposed raising the lead-abatement tax credit from $10,000 to $50,000 per taxpayer per dwelling while keeping the $5 million annual certificate cap; ODH said more children were identified after the state lowered blood-lead intervention thresholds and that many eligible homes exceed the current $10,000 cap.

Preparedness and registries

Vanderhoff emphasized the department's role in emergency preparedness and said ODH has used CDC and ASPR funding for avian-flu surveillance and other response activities; he said the department's lab can test for H5N1 and that significant federal funding losses would hamper preparedness because ODH depends heavily on federal dollars. He also discussed proposed registries (vape registry, Parkinson's registry) and said a vape registry cost was not included in the budget ask and that the Parkinson's registry currently lacks state funding.

Committee questions and follow-ups

Committee members asked detailed questions about ODH—s proposals, including how Ohio SEAS would obtain parental consent and track follow-up, how mobile dental units would be staffed and what barriers prevent on-schedule nursing-home surveys. Vanderhoff and ODH staff offered to provide additional data on workforce, program models, lead-program expenditures and radon inspection fee changes.

The hearing concluded with committee requests for follow-up information on funding details, PPE deployment for avian-flu responses at the county level and other program-level clarifications.