NY Health Department Eliminates Over 200 Employees and Fellows Amid Federal Funding Cuts

New York state’s Department of Health has laid off 50 state employees and abruptly ended 168 fellowships due to the proposed federal public health cuts, according to Erin Clary, the department’s Deputy Communications Director, in an email.

On April 3, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to cut more than $11 billion in public health grants. New York Attorney General Letitia James and 22 other state attorneys sued the Trump administration after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced federal cuts to state and county health departments, arguing the cuts were illegal and urging the court to block them.

As a result, 50 New York state employees have been laid off as of April 3 due to the elimination of the CDC’s COVID Health Disparities grant and the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grant, according to Clary.

Additionally, 168 fellows were notified that the state’s Public Health Fellowship Program would end on May 30 — 13 months ahead of schedule.

Sullivan County Commissioner John Liddle stated in an email that the federal cuts have defunded the county’s two public health fellows.

“This is the first significant, direct impact on Sullivan County Health and Human Services from cuts at the federal level,” said Liddle.

Sarah Ravenhall, Executive Director of the New York Station Association of County Health Officials, stated in a press release that early terminations of the public health fellowship program came “at a time when shortages were already straining the [public health] system.” Public health fellows worked on several public health projects, including increasing immunization rates, addressing maternal mortality challenges, and testing for mosquito-borne disease and vector-borne disease outbreaks.

“The fellowship program being terminated is one example of how these reductions in funding [are] going to hurt not only local health departments but our communities,” said Ravenhall to Radio Catskill.

While some health departments are already experiencing the effects of the cuts, much remains uncertain for local agencies, according to Eve Walter, Ulster County Public Health Director.

“Every day seems to provide some clarity but also more potential losses,” said Walter. “We are doing everything we can to keep our current local services robust as we can to weather whatever impacts trickle down to the county level.”

Image: The Gladys Olmsted Building houses the Sullivan County Public Health department in Liberty, N.Y. (Credit: Sullivan County Government)