A list from the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health showing positions eliminated due to federal cuts of COVID-19-era funding. The positions supported the Nevada State Immunization Program (NSIP) and the Office of State Epidemiology (OSE).
Courtesy
Approximately two years after the federal government declared the COVID-19 emergency over, state and local health officials are feeling impacts of the Trump administration’s restructuring.
For the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, some changes have come quickly and led to workforce reductions.
Carson City Health and Human Services has seen certain funding sources affected but has avoided cuts to programs and positions.
“CCHHS had funding affected by the recent termination of grants; however, at this time, programs and employees have not been impacted. We are monitoring the situation very closely,” said CCHHS Director Nicki Aaker.
The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (under the state’s Department of Health and Human Services) notified local partners in a March 25 letter that “several funding streams awarded to DPBH during the COVID response were terminated effective March 24, 2025.”
According to the state, the federal government cited President Joe Biden’s April 10, 2023, termination of the national emergency and cited President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiatives to say, “Now that the pandemic is over, the grants are no longer necessary.”
The grants stemmed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the state said, emphasizing all affected subaward recipients “must cease immediately as these funds will not be available to reimburse any expense that occurred after March 24, 2025.”
“There may be more grants impacted,” the state’s letter said, “but these are the ones for which DPBH has received official notification.”
Jesse Stone, public information officer for DPBH, confirmed 25 positions were cut that supported the Nevada State Immunization Program and the Office of State Epidemiology. The terminations occurred in March following the federal notification. These were mostly full-time contractual positions, Stone said.
“The contractual positions were set to expire with the grants, at the various end dates within 2025, 2026, and 2027,” he said. “Based on available funding opportunities, the Division of Public and Behavioral Health had hoped to maintain some staff after those grants were set to terminate as they were doing important work for the programs. However, this will be less feasible because there will not be a seamless transition from the end of the grant to a new funding source for those positions.”
Stone noted: “In all their different roles, these team members shared the commitment to work every day to make Nevada a healthier and happier place. While their time with NSIP/OSE has ended, the accomplishments of their amazing dedication will benefit Nevadans for years to come.”
Two CDC subawards to CCHHS – passed through the state – were affected by the March grant terminations, according to Stone. The first was for $435,030 to “Provide enhanced COVID-19 activities and other emerging infectious diseases of public health significance throughout Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, and Storey counties.”
The second active award was for $900,282 to “Build and improve capacities at the local level for investigations, surveillance and outbreak response for COVID-19 (and) other emerging infections and conditions of public health significance.”
Of the roughly $1.3 million for CCHHS, a little more than half has already been spent, according to Aaker.
“The epidemiology division was impacted by the federal cuts,” said Aaker. “This division performs disease investigations as required by NRS 441A, including disease outbreak investigations, assisting with food-borne investigations, and healthcare provider information and education.
“These employees were going to be charged to another workforce grant starting 7/1/25. However, due to the cuts, the employees started work through that grant earlier than expected. We may have to reevaluate the services by the end of the grant, which is in November 2026.”
CCHHS has 56 employees and an approximately $12.5 million annual budget, Aaker said. Of that budget, 43 percent is grant-funded, either by the federal government or the state.
In a March 27 news release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced major restructuring and workforce reduction of 20,000 employees, including 3,500 at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 at the CDC, 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health and 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies.
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy Jr. said. “This department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
When asked about immediate effects of the grant cuts, Stone said, “Many statewide services related to communicable disease prevention and control, as well as behavioral health, halted immediately as of March 24.”
“Carson City residents benefit from public health efforts across the state and nation,” he said. “By keeping all of Nevada healthier, Carson City citizens are protected from various diseases and public health threats.”
According to Nevada’s OSE, since 2020, more than 12,000 people have died in the state with COVID-19-related issues, including 32 this year.
For information go to nvose.org/data-statistics.