Johnson County Public Health (JCPH) will increase its capacity to address current and emerging health issues in the community by hiring an additional disease prevention specialist whose primary focus will be chronic disease prevention. The position is a result of Johnson County’s investment of funds received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

JCPH currently employs three disease prevention specialists. Disease prevention specialists work to improve healthy behaviors and the health status of the county; provide information to individuals and communities to promote, maintain and improve healthy lifestyles; and reduce barriers to health care through outreach and education to disproportionately impacted populations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the specialists oversaw the county’s contact tracing, which was instrumental in the response to the crisis. However, due to the additional infectious disease investigation workload, the department was not able to focus on chronic disease issues in the community, including obesity, cancer and heart disease. Chronic disease prevention is a strategic priority of JCPH. With the support of ARPA funding for this position, the department will be able to pursue opportunities to address the disparities in chronic disease prevention that were made even more apparent due to the pandemic.   

The Board of Supervisors voted to invest $53,173 for Fiscal Year 2022, which ends June 30, 2022. A total of $319,039.20 has been allocated over four Fiscal Years.

JCPH works to promote, protect and improve the safety, health and well-being of Johnson County. More information about JCPH is available at https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/department-of-public-health. 

Johnson County is committed to utilizing ARPA to enhance investments in public services and maximize the impacts of our local fiscal recovery allocation. The County's ARPA Leadership Team has been working since February 2021 to research and discuss the many aspects of this funding. Johnson County solicited public input from May to October 2021 using a series of online surveys and tools as well as six in-person public input sessions that were held throughout the County.

More information about ARPA and how it impacts Johnson County is available at https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/arpa.

Contact: Danielle Pettit-Majewski, Public Health Director; Kelli Andresen, Board of Supervisors Office
Contact number: 319-339-6128; 319-356-6000
Contact email: [email protected]; [email protected]