Casper health department touts new facility, warns of state funding shortfalls for mandated services

Anna, from the health department, updated the Casper City Council on the agency’s operations, saying the department opened a new building ahead of schedule and under budget and continues to expand services while facing funding shortfalls for statutorily required programs.

“We’re very excited to start a new chapter,” Anna said, and highlighted that about 88% of clients served by the department are City of Casper residents. She pointed to partnerships with city fire and police and described a range of services including WIC (which joined the department last August and serves roughly 1,280 participants monthly), maternal‑child health, communicable‑disease prevention, family planning, and a disease‑prevention clinic staffed in part by a twice‑weekly nurse practitioner.

Anna told the council the department performs public‑health nursing assessments, runs an infant lead‑testing program tied to GIS mapping of older homes and pipes, provides Narcan training and fentanyl test strips as part of opioid response, and will begin offering drive‑thru flu vaccinations from the new facility to improve access and safety.

The department’s packet lists multiple funding sources — state, City of Casper, Natrona County, federal pass‑through grants and fee revenue — and Anna said those funds are stretched. She noted maternal‑child health services are statutorily required (the department works to see 90% of Medicaid births and 75% of non‑county births) but that the maternal‑child health funds “typically run out in November and December,” after which city and county funds cover the remainder of the year.

A council member asked about the city’s line item; Anna said the packet shows City of Casper funding listed at $690,000. A councilor noted the previous increase from roughly $575,000 to $600,000 and asked whether additional state funds were possible. Anna said the second tier of state funding for wage increases did not appear in the governor’s budget and would require legislative action; she is preparing a document that maps statutory responsibilities and where related funding currently comes from.

Anna also highlighted workforce strain — the department works with 38 staff members who often carry multiple responsibilities — and said ongoing partnerships (including with Community Action Partnership and local providers) and state peer‑navigator funding tied to opioid grants will be important to expand case management and sustained services.

The council did not take formal action at the meeting. Anna said she will share her statutory funding document with city staff as it is refined and encouraged council members to visit the new facility.

Ending: The council thanked department staff for the update and signaled interest in continued conversation about funding, legislative advocacy and the statutory funding document Anna is preparing.