NH75OT000034

National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities - The Department's Commitment to Addressing Health Disparities Pre-Dated the Global COVID-19 Epidemic.

The 2014 Strategic Plan, the Vermont State Health Assessment 2018 (SHA), and the State Health Improvement Plan 2019-2023 (SHIP) all explicitly examine and address health inequities by race and ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, and geography. These efforts were developed in conjunction with a steering committee and community advisory committee composed of multiple agencies within state government, and non-governmental leaders including, but not limited to, hospitals and healthcare providers, academic institutions, statewide non-profits, and organizations engaged in addressing health and equity in their communities.

The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated known disparities. During the COVID-19 response, the Department established a new Health Equity & Community Engagement Team (HECE) to integrate health equity into Vermont's response, including data analysis, testing and vaccination clinic planning, community engagement and grantmaking, staff development, public communications, and more.

With the additional funds from this CDC grant, the Department will:

- Strengthen and expand the community partnerships put in place quickly as part of the COVID response.
- Broaden collection, analysis, and reporting of essential data on race, ethnicity, and preferred language to determine populations most impacted.
- Stabilize the staffing and health department systems needed to incorporate the lessons learned from our COVID response to address health disparities.
- Invest in workforce development and capacity building in communities most impacted by COVID.

Vermont Agency Of Human Services

NOT APPLICABLE

93.354 - Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response

CDC Office of Financial Resources (OFR) [HHS - CDC]

Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) [HHS - CDC]

Vermont United States

State-Wide

National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities (CDC-RFA-OT21-2103)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 05/31/23 to 03/24/25 and the total obligations have decreased 3% from $28,498,810 to $27,647,949.