O’NEILL, Neb. - North Central District Health Department (NCDHD), which serves Cherry, Keya Paha, Holt, Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Knox, Pierce and Rock counties, is responding to confirmed and potential funding cuts at both the state and federal levels.

“These cuts will directly impact essential public health services we provide throughout the district which may weaken our ability to respond to public health needs,” NCDHD stated in a Facebook post.

Under a pending two-year state budget, Nebraska health departments could see a $4.5 million reduction in funding, a 37% cut to their budgets. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently canceled $11.4 billion in grants to state and local health departments, citing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors warns that these cuts could force health departments to scale back or eliminate vital programs, including school oral health screenings, childhood vaccination clinics, infectious disease tracking and response, and fitness and nutrition programs.