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Population Health division outlines staffing and federal funding as it shifts from emergency response
Summary
Acting Population Health Director Dr. Susan Phillip told the Health Commission the division had redirected staff to COVID response (31% activated), leveraged about $35.7 million in CDC funding for testing and vaccination work and plans to reintegrate paused programs while pursuing permanent leadership and accreditation renewal.
Dr. Susan Phillip, acting director of the Population Health Division at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, briefed the Health Commission on Sept. 7 about the division’s role during the pandemic and its plans for the post‑surge period.
Phillip said the division — roughly 515 staff in 14 branches — has had about 31% of staff deployed for the COVID response and has placed approximately 470 students and volunteers to support operations. She told commissioners that federal funding through Centers for Disease Control programs — described during the presentation as roughly $35,700,000 in Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant funding — has primarily supported testing, vaccination, community engagement and response activities.
Phillip highlighted operational moves and investments: the TB clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General has gone live on the Epic electronic health record system, the division has secured additional office space at 1360 Mission and 101 New Montgomery and Environmental Health relocated to 49 South Van Ness. She described partnerships across the San Francisco Health Network, community-based organizations and academic collaborators that supported surveillance, outreach and service delivery during the pandemic.
The acting director also described work paused or slowed because of COVID deployments and said leadership is focused on reintegrating core public-health programs and sustaining investments in workforce development, including a public‑health workforce pipeline and an Office of Anti‑Racism and Equity. She said the division received a one‑year extension for its public-health accreditation renewal, moving the review to March 2023.
Commissioners praised the division’s pandemic response and emphasized the importance of sustaining the workforce pipeline and equity work as staff return to non‑emergency functions. Phillip said the division will return with more in‑depth briefings on priority programs.
Ending: The Commission requested follow‑up briefings with additional detail on how the division will restore paused activities, staffing plans and how federal funds will be applied to long‑term public‑health functions.
