Marion County health department seeks $75,494 in state aid for immunizations, preparedness and chronic-disease work

County health staff presented a 2025 year-in-review and sought the board’s approval of a state grant application totaling $75,494 to fund the chronic disease risk reduction program, the immunization action plan and public health emergency preparedness.

The health representative said the vaccines-for-children/adults program recently passed a state site visit and described local initiatives including a community baby shower providing pack-and-plays funded by grants aimed at preventing sudden unexpected infant deaths. "We just got our Kansas State Child Death Review Board information from 2025 ... sudden unexpected infant deaths due to an unsafe sleeping arrangement is much higher than motor vehicle accidents," the presenter said while describing targeted grant-funded prevention work.

Staff also described training from the Kansas Department of Health for county officials (sessions on April 17 and June 12), the department’s work partnering with schools for hearing and vision screens, and operational updates such as a new part-time biller (Emily Griffin) and document-scanning efforts to migrate paper records into electronic health records.

Commissioners moved and seconded approval of the aid-to-local grant application and authorized the chairman to sign the submission to the state. Staff said the grant covers the state fiscal year beginning July 1 and includes both competitive and formula funding components.

Board members expressed appreciation for the department’s work and asked clarifying questions about programs and staffing; the presentation concluded with the board’s authorization for the chairman to sign the application.