Public Health Workforce
Our public health workforce supports healthy communities at the local, state, national and global levels.
They are the epidemiologists preventing infectious and chronic disease, policy analysts developing environmental health regulations and communications experts promoting healthy eating and safe driving.
These workers are essential to protect the general public, and we are facing a dangerous shortage. Local and state health departments need an additional 80,000 full-time employees just to provide basic public health services, let alone respond to major crises.
Take action for the future of public health
Public health threats don't wait, and neither can we. We must urge our elected officials to prioritize increased funding for the public health workforce.
Act now:
- Urge your members of Congress to prioritize public health funding in fiscal year 2025 before the Subcommittee Markup on June 27, and let them know you want to see funding earmarked for Public Health AmeriCorps and other innovative workforce development models!
- Ask your representatives to support the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to make public health careers more accessible to diverse professionals.
- Learn about and support the Public Health Infrastructure Save Lives Act.
- Educate yourself on workplace policies that can support a healthy workforce:
- Advocate for paid sick leave, including mental health days.
- Champion peer support and mental health services.
- Advocate for diversity in recruitment efforts.
- Invest in training that addresses implicit bias and cultural competency.
Watch Dr. Nadine Gracia of Trust for America’s Health speak on the critical need for sustained funding of the public health workforce: