Chaffee County, CO- Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) is excited to announce that the Chaffee County Community Foundation (CCCF) has launched a Friends of Public Health and Prevention Fund. According to CCCF’s website, “Funding for public health and prevention has always been dynamic, complicated, and uncertain and has involved a blending and braiding of insurance reimbursements, county contributions, and grants. In order to be as proactive as possible to sustain Chaffee County’s local public health system, the Friends of Public Health Fund will give the community a chance to financially support a wide variety of free and low-cost programming for people of all ages including, but not limited to, nurse home visitation, disease prevention and immunizations, epidemiology, health navigation, consumer protection, emergency preparedness and response, community health assessment and improvement planning, storytelling and advocacy, social connection, aging well, health insurance literacy and coverage, oral and behavioral health, and education. Chaffee County Public Health will be thoughtful and strategic in identifying funding priorities based on the local, state, and federal landscapes and will be accountable to maintain current programming and personnel, as well as respond to future public health threats.”
Giving to the fund is an opportunity to help sustain and grow the programs and services that many Chaffee County residents and visitors have become accustomed to over the years despite the uncertainties that are being posed both at a state and federal level regarding a resilient financial landscape. CCPH and CCCF have been in conversations about this unique arrangement for months, and the initiative has been supported by the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners also serving as the county’s Board of Health. CCPH leadership will continue to seek out new and innovative funding streams, including aggressively pursuing local, state, and federal grants, which will also diversify the health department’s financial portfolio so that it can continue to assess and plan programming for the county’s ever-evolving health and wellness needs.
“The creation of this new fund through CCCF couldn’t come at a more appropriate and necessary time. CCPH is so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community we care about so much, and the relationship we have with CCCF is a testament to how proactive and forward-thinking Chaffee County is. We know that many people in our community are having to prioritize their expenses and which causes to give to locally, and we are so appreciative that we now have a mechanism to be considered,” said Andrea Carlstrom, CCPH Director.
To make a tax deductible donation to the Friends of Public Health and Prevention today, go to: https://cccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2815.
