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Waco–McLennan County public health director reviews 2025 response, warns of grant cuts and staffing losses
Summary
Director Stephanie Alvie told City Council that the health district contained a local measles outbreak (nine cases across two family clusters), provided 150+ vaccines in response clinics, and faced grant pauses and eliminations that forced several staff cuts; the district outlined priorities including a new community health improvement plan.
Stephanie Alvie, director of the Waco–McLennan County Public Health District, presented the district's 2025 annual report to the City Council on April 21, outlining outbreak response, service delivery and funding challenges.
Alvie reviewed the local response to a measles cluster that originated in a largely unvaccinated area of West Texas. "In May of 2025, we did report our first case of measles in the county in over 40 years," she said, noting the district's epidemiology team investigated cases, identified contacts and hosted off-site vaccination clinics that provided more than 150 vaccine doses during the response. Alvie said local school districts' high vaccination coverage (over 95% in many schools) helped limit spread.
Alvie also described a difficult funding landscape: she said several COVID-era grants were paused or eliminated in 2025, forcing the elimination of four full-time positions, two part-time epidemiology graduate assistants and two contract staff. The district said other grants were reduced temporarily and some later restored, but the instability hindered long-term planning.
The director highlighted clinical and environmental health services: the immunizations clinic served more than 5,000 clients in FY25 and the tuberculosis prevention clinic logged about 1,800 appointments. Alvie pointed to the health district's new epidemiology surveillance dashboard covering roughly 57 notifiable conditions as a modernization step that improves situational awareness for local providers.
On prevention and planning, Alvie summarized the community health improvement plan (CHIP), developed with about 39 organizations and 65 partners, which prioritized mental and behavioral health, health care services, women's health and non-medical drivers of health such as financial security and education.
Council members thanked Alvie for the work and voiced concern about funding volatility and workforce retention. The district said it will continue CHIP implementation, pursue strategic planning and complete an organizational assessment to align services with funding realities.
Next steps: the health district will continue collaborative CHIP rollout and return with implementation milestones as part of ongoing public-health oversight.
