Building Workforce Capacity of Rural and Frontier Local Health Departments to Respond to COVID-19

covidworkforce@naccho.org

NACCHO will provide training and technical assistance for local health departments (LHDs) that serve rural and frontier jurisdictions to effectively respond to, recover from, and build community resiliency related to the COVID pandemic and future public health emergencies.

Activities will include:

• Participate in a virtual kick-off call and create an introductory slide for it
• Participate in an initial training and technical survey (TTA) assessment as well as a post assessment
• Participate in monthly virtual workshops
• Participate in monthly, 30-minute comprehensive 1:1 technical assistance engagements with a goal of developing or updating a section of an administrative preparedness plan
• Participate in additional community of practice peer network activities
• Submit the newly developed or updated administrative preparedness plan or plan section
• Submit a short, interim progress report
• Participate in a virtual project wrap-up call and create a progress report slide
• Participate in all evaluation activities

Topics will include:

• Partnerships
• Administrative preparedness planning
• Public health communications
• Health equity
• Workforce
• Mental health and well-being
• Emergency preparedness workforce
• Sustainability planning
• Emerging issues

Eligible applicants are governmental LHDs with at least 50% of their jurisdiction being designated as rural and/or frontier, as defined in the application instructions.

Awards of $20,000 each will be provided to approximately 12 LHDs to participate in and apply the project's COVID/emergency preparedness workforce capacity-building activities. The project period is approximately 11 months.

A link to the application instructions is available on the program website.

Email completed applications and required attachments to covidworkforce@naccho.org.