Press Release

August 26, 2011
CARDIN, MIKULSKI ANNOUNCE NEARLY $3 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE
Federal grants will create jobs in core areas of public health

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) today announced $2,794,580 in grants to strengthen public health infrastructure in Maryland. These grants were provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and the Association of Public Health Libraries (APHL).

“Strong public health initiatives are the key to good health care outcomes and supporting these type of life-saving programs are one of my most important priorities,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. “This funding is for cost-effective programs that will result in a healthier Maryland.”

“This is about saving lives and making sure our public health system can adequately serve our communities,” said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “These federal dollars will go toward improving the quality of public heath infrastructure in Maryland, from tobacco quitlines to monitoring vaccine effectiveness to ensuring quality laboratory practices.”

These federal grants were awarded by HHS through the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). They are designed to help provide tobacco cessation services, strengthen public health laboratory and immunization services, prevent healthcare association infections, and provide substance abuse prevention and treatment.

The list of programs awarded grants is as follows:

  • DHMH Tobacco Quitlines Program, in the amount of $112,377;
  • DHMH Strengthen Public Health Immunization Program, in the amount of $1,297,548;
  • DHMH Emerging Infections Program, in the amount of $239,195;
  • DHMH Vaccine Effectiveness Monitoring Program, in the amount of $145,460; and,
  • APHL Partnership for Quality Laboratory Practice Program, in the amount of $1,000,000.

As a senior member of the HELP committee, Senator Mikulski fought to establish the Prevention and Public Health Trust Fund in the Affordable Care Act. 

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