Maricopa County hiring in health department, ME’s office

Maricopa County will boost public health investments in its upcoming annual budget, to address needs that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arizona’s most populous county is funding 30 new positions in its public health department and adding resources to the medical examiner’s office as part of its ongoing response to the coronavirus and other public health issues.

The $3.4 billion county budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes “significant health and human services spending,” county officials said.

Many of the new positions will increase the Maricopa County Department of Public Health’s capacity to build partnerships and relationships that can help address health inequalities that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, department spokeswoman Sonia Singh wrote in an email.

“These positions are a step in the right direction given the size and growth of Maricopa County,” she wrote. “These new positions will add mid-level supervision to support fluctuations in the workforce and additional capacity to rapidly scale-up in response during emergencies.”

With about 4.5 million people, Maricopa County has the fourth-largest population of any county in the country, the latest U.S. Census data shows. The three largest counties by population, in order, are Los Angeles County in California, Cook County in Illinois and Harris County in Texas.

The county money is separate from $1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money awarded to the Arizona Department of Health Services, which could also help bolster county-level public health programs in Arizona. The new public health positions are coming out of the county’s general fund.

New spending plans resulting from the pandemic include:

Thirty new positions at the public health department.

More staff and resources at the medical examiner’s office to keep up with increased deaths.

Five million dollars for long-term solutions to homelessness.

Continued rental and utility assistance programs for residents.

A new command center for the emergency management department, which last year coordinated distribution of personal protective equipment and other responses.

In addition to funds from the county budget, Maricopa County received from the American Rescue Plan Act a new influx of federal money to address pandemic recovery.

Of the $435 million in federal funds directly allocated to Maricopa County, $136 million will go towards the ongoing public health response to COVID-19.

“The County is focused on ending the pandemic. This starts with getting more people vaccinated,” county officials said in a written statement.

To that end, Maricopa County bought vehicles to get vaccines to hard-toreach populations. Funds are also being used for a vaccination campaign to convince people who are hesitant to get the vaccine. And the county is opening two new public health clinics in the Southwest Valley and the East Valley to offer a range of services including vaccinations.

Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

Reach the reporter at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes.

Support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today.