Public Health

The House Appropriations Committee provides financial support for public health through the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) which administers a broad array of public health programs

These programs include:

Many of these key programs and services are managed through Virginia’s 35 health districts and 182 local health departments and satellite offices.  Local health departments promote and protect the health of local communities and people through services such as immunizations, infectious and chronic disease prevention, maternal health, emergency preparedness, and food safety inspections. 

Budget Overview

Public health funding represents a partnership with the federal, state and local governments. Public health programs may generate funds through the collection of special or dedicated special revenue. For example, local health clinic services may receive revenue by billing other private and public sources for patient services. Other inspection and licensure programs may receive revenue from fees from regulated entities like hospitals, nursing facilities, community waterworks, restaurants, etc.

Program/Policy Highlights

• Community Health Services
  Includes immunizations, infectious and chronic disease prevention, maternal and children health services, nutrition services through the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program, emergency preparedness, environmental health services, food safety inspections, injury and violence prevention services, and tobacco control
  
  Services offered in 182 local health departments and satellite offices which employ 3,702 people

• Communicable Disease Prevention and Control
  Provides treatment and Control of TB, STD and other communicable diseases
  
  Conducts more than 365 disease outbreak investigations annually (not including COVID-19 outbreak)
  
  Investigates environmental epidemiology of zoonotic diseases (e.g., rabies), toxicology, vector-borne diseases (e.g., Lyme disease) and water hazards

• Environmental Health Hazards Protection
  Inspects restaurants, wells and septic tanks, shellfish sanitation levels and provides marina services

• Water Quality Oversight
  Regulates 2,870 public water systems throughout Virginia
  
  Provides over $75 million per year in loans and grants for water system infrastructure improvements through the federal Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund and other programs
  
  Provides oversight and project management to over 50 construction projects per year
  
  Completes more than 750 surveys annually to identify water pollution, prioritize water testing and predict recreational water quality and evaluates over 110,000 water samples per year

• Vital Records and Health Statistics
  Records and maintains information related to significant life events, including, but not limited to, births, deaths, marriages, and divorces that take place in the Commonwealth

• Emergency Preparedness and Response
  Facilitate response to any emergency impacting public health, such as infectious disease outbreaks (e.g. H1N1 and COVID-19, and bioterrorism). Response activities can include surveillance, mitigation, planning and coordination across communities, medical surges, and vaccination

• Emergency Medical Services
  Plans and coordinates statewide EMS system
  
  Trains and certifies emergency responders
  
  Administers and provides financial assistance to emergency medical service providers and localities

• Medical Examiners and Anatomical Services
  Conducts death investigations under certain circumstances, through 4 district offices with 100 staff statewide
  
  Issues autopsy reports and death certificates
  
  Manages the statewide anatomical program
  
  Accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners

• Family Health Services
  State administration and oversight of health eating programs (WIC), child and family health programs,  early hearing detection and intervention in infants, collecting public information and data on population health to support and improve public health programs

• Licensure and Certification
  Licenses and certifies 5,764 nursing facilities, hospitals, home health agencies, hospice, End Stage Renal Disease facilities, outpatient surgery centers, labs, other outpatient facilities (rural health, psychiatric)

Reports and Presentations

Resources and Deep Dives

Staff Contact

Susan Massart

Legislative Fiscal Analyst

(804) 698-1597 smassart@hac.virginia.gov