Galveston County Health District lays off nearly 50 staff in “reorganization” * CEO: Daily operations and health services unaffected by cost-cutting reduction in force With federal grants provided to battle COVID and provide other COVID-era healthcare needs expiring or set to expire, the Galveston County Health District on Friday (1/24/2025) informed 48 people they are being laid off. “GCHD has been navigating a challenging financial situation that has placed us in a precarious position,” District CEO Philip Keiser said in a written statement. “In order to preserve our ability to continue serving the community and the individuals who rely on us, we have had to take immediate steps to stabilize our operations.” Officials said the 48 positions include staff within the health district and Coastal Health and Wellness. However, the layoffs do not affect healthcare, clinic, and general health provision staff. Keiser said all of the health district’s general health operations and clinics remain operational and staffed. Like many public health organizations, the health district received millions in grant dollars to fund COVID-19 and COVID-19 outreach efforts due to the pandemic. While COVID cases are again on the rise, the levels are nowhere near those of 2020 through 2022, and there is a wide array of preventative and treatment options. Grants allocated by Congress are set to expire, so the district leadership decided to do layoffs at one time instead of waiting until each grant source expired. The employees affected were informed Friday in several sessions with management. The district has seen other federal and state funds reduced and with a new Congress and presidential administration, funding sources may not be at levels to sustain the workforce size as it was before the layoffs. The positions cut accounted for about 13% of the 358 staff that worked for the health district and the clinic. Calling the layoffs “difficult,” Keiser was unavailable for an on-camera interview on Friday. While always known as temporary funding sources, the health district and Galveston County leadership gained national praise for handling the COVID response. From testing to vaccinations and case tracking, Keiser and Galveston County Judge Mark Henry avoided the politicization of the pandemic that was evident in other counties. As a result, the county had one of the highest vaccination and testing rates in the state and among the highest per capita in the nation.

Posted by i45NOW ADMIN at 2025-01-24 19:21:58 UTC