Missoula Public Health seeks $50,000 planning grant to help remake funding and services

Missoula County public health leaders asked commissioners March 26 to sign a letter of support for a $50,000, one‑year planning grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation to create a Missoula Public Health Transformation Initiative.

Megan, a recently hired business manager in the county public health division, told commissioners the planning grant would fund work to identify sustainable funding streams, rethink workforce needs and coordinate with regional partners. "What we're trying to do with this initiative is plan for the future instead of react to it," Megan said, arguing the county should prepare for shifting statewide public health funding and changing competitive grant environments.

Presenters pointed to statewide budgetary pressures: they said Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has a $34 million budget gap and referenced $233 million in rural health transformation funds at the state level, noting Missoula has not received that funding. County staff said the initiative would also review reimbursement methods, workforce planning and partnerships with nearby jurisdictions and national examples in Minnesota, Washington and Colorado.

Commissioners expressed support for the project and staff requested signatures for a county letter of support; staff said other grant avenues will be pursued if this application is unsuccessful. Staff also offered to provide commissioners with materials to support county‑level outreach to state agencies and MACO (Montana Association of Counties) engagement on contracting and procurement concerns.