Primary Department: Public Health Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton - Interim Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Award
Project ID (if applicable): FY25_WATERSURV
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): National Association of County and City Health Official (NACCHO)
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 5%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Rate is not 0% and is listed above.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by Public Health Services for approval to accept from the National Association of County and City Health Officials grant funds in the amount of $20,000, with no required match, for the FY 2025 Wastewater Surveillance Mentorship Program.
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Background and Discussion:
The purpose of this award is to enhance our wastewater surveillance program by strengthening data analysis techniques, refining operational protocols, and fostering strategic partnerships. Key interests include capacity building for outbreak detection and integrating advanced technologies to support public health readiness. Harris County Public Health currently has a Data Usage Agreement (DUA) and contract with University of Texas School of Public Health that allows Harris County to send COVID-19 testing and case-related data to the University for analysis to inform our COVID-19 testing operations. This analysis seeks to answer questions as they relate to Long COVID, the Wastewater surveillance program, and creating a model for identifying areas with highest burden of health disparities. The University has provided Harris County with a deeper understanding of our data than we could do alone. Also, at the county...
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