I recently received updated HIV epidemiology (the study of the distribution of disease in a population) from my public health partners at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. The good news is the county’s HIV infection rate in 2016 was down, albeit modestly, for the fourth consecutive year, to 194 new diagnoses. Almost 1,000 new...
Category: Cuyahoga County
June 4, 2018
Child Safety the Focus of Cuyahoga Council HHSA Committee Meeting
The May 16 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) Committee was a content-rich meeting that lasted more than two hours, as the committee was briefed on changes that are coming to the administration of the Cuyahoga County Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). After several high profile child fatality...
May 14, 2018
Drug Discount Program, Child Abuse Prevention Focus of Presentations at County HHSA Committee
The May 2, 2018 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) committee featured two presentations, one, about a federal prescription drug discount program, the other, about the Great Lakes Regional Prevention Council. The 340B program is used locally to reduce prescription drug prices for medications given to those in the county...
April 16, 2018
County Executive Delivers State of the County, Answers Question from the Community
On Wednesday, County Executive Armond Budish delivered his fourth State of the County address, to a packed room at the Cleveland Convention Center. In his 50 minutes of remarks, Budish was able to highlight several important strategic victories for his administration, including increased enrollment due to the expansion of universal pre-kindergarten, expanding workforce development in...
April 9, 2018
Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality Risk Factors
One of the most troubling realities in our community is that our infant mortality rate – the rate of babies who do not live to their first birthday – is significantly higher than the national average. In Cuyahoga County, nearly nine babies out of every 1,000 live births die, compared to a national infant mortality...
April 6, 2018
Child Support Service Contracts Approved by Cuyahoga County Council HHSA Committee
Two contracts for child support services were approved during the March 21 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health and Human Service and Aging committee. Rick Wiler, Manager at the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency, provided testimony for both contracts. The first contract was worth $11.6 million. It runs from January 1, 2018 to December...
April 4, 2018
Spending approved by HHSA Committee for organizations that serve youth and families
The Cuyahoga County Health and Human Service and Aging Committee awarded nine contracts to organizations that do work related to youth and the foster care system at their March 21 meeting. Bob Math, who represented the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) testified in front of the committee. Twelve organizations responded to a Request...
March 20, 2018
New Information Released on HHS Termination of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants
Today, NBC News released information from the internal notes of federal officials, highlighting reasons behind the early termination of federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program funding. The program was just beginning year three of a 5 year funding cycle when the change was announced last July. Although no poor outcomes were cited as a reason...
March 1, 2018
County Health and Human Services Levy Headlines HHSA County Committee Meeting
At the January 17 meeting of the Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) Committee of the Cuyahoga County Council, the first of 2018, the committee welcomed its newest member, Michael Houser. The HHSA Committee is now comprised of Chair, Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell, Vice Chair, Councilman Michael Houser, Councilwoman Nan Baker, Councilman Dale Miller and Councilwoman...
September 25, 2017
Budish Administration Unveils Five-Year HHS Strategic Plan
The first Health, Human Service and Aging (HHSA) Committee meeting in several months took place on September 13, 2017, with a presentation from Tom Pristow, director of the Department of Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services, unveiling the Cuyahoga County Health and Human Service Strategic Plan. The plan is a result of legislation pushed by...