Austin Public Health urges Council to prioritize frontline jobs amid federal funding cuts

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) continued slashing of federal funding for critical services is coinciding with and compounding an already dire budget crunch for Austin, which will force Council to make tough decisions on where to tighten the purse strings. Austin Public Health employees with the union AFSCME Local 1624 made their pitch for support Wednesday morning, asking City Council to fill in the $22 million gap that federal funding cuts have dealt APH so far. They say that critical services like vaccinations – during an outbreak of measles and the bird flu – are at risk without it. 

“We no longer have the enhanced infrastructure to quickly act during an outbreak of an infectious disease, such as the measles outbreak occurring just a few counties over in West Texas. The recent federal funding cuts have made our communities weaker, less safe and decreased Austin Public Health’s ability to respond effectively to current and future threats,” said Brydan Summers, president of AFSCME Local 1624. 

Nicole Doggett, a nurse specialized in immunizations, explained that herd immunity – when a critical mass of a community is immunized to a disease, making it difficult to spread – will be compromised if APH’s vaccination services are cut. Back in 2021 during COVID, public health officials stressed that vaccines were the key to achieving herd immunity. 

“If you and I are fortunate enough to have adequate health insurance and need a vaccine, we simply call our doctor, make an appointment and go get the vaccine. This is not the case for thousands of Austinites who are uninsured or underinsured, they rely on Austin Public Health to receive life saving vaccination services,” said Doggett. “The vaccine safety net provides protection, not only for people who receive injections, but for the community as a whole.” 

One of the programs most at risk from these cuts is the Austin Refugee Clinic, which provides essential health services to asylum seekers. Beth Savercool, a nurse at the clinic, stressed that newly arrived refugees will not be provided the services they are promised if APH doesn’t receive this funding.

“Our patients are refugees and other legal status immigrants from around the world, many who came to the United States to escape traumatic situations from their birth countries,” said Savercool. “At our clinic, we provide health screens and blood work. We test for serious communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and syphilis. We provide immunizations for children so they can start school. We detect and refer for medical treatment for a range of medical, dental and mental health issues, and complete paperwork that leads to citizenship.”

In January, the federal government took away funding, and though it was restored in April, the City has terminated all full-time employees at the clinic as of May 30. About a third of APH’s funding comes from grants, which pay for around half of full-time positions. Already by April, APH had lost 27 full-time employees and anticipated losing 28 more. 

Savercool stressed that temporary employees at the refugee clinic will not be enough to provide all the services promised.

“On a human level, when you take a family of 10 from the Congo and tell them, ‘we can’t help you,’ what are their options? They don’t have a car to drive to Houston for these services. They don’t have $600 per person to pay for lawyer services. They were told they would receive care in Austin when they were placed here, they were told these services are free,” she said.

APH is working with City Manager TC Broadnax to find open positions in other city departments for laid-off employees. Throughout this process, AFSCME is appealing to Council to prioritize the preservation of frontline jobs, ensure direct communication with AFSCME 1624 throughout any layoffs, commit to a transparent process, and protect funding for training services to help reassigned workers that have been laid off. 

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