Fulton County health department leaders put on leave after HIV workers laid off

Jack Hardin left chairman of the Fulton County Board of Fitness speaks with District Medical Director Dr Lynn Paxton at a board meeting on April Rebecca Grapevine Healthbeat The Fulton County Board of Strength this week laid off workers including those focused on HIV and sexual physical condition services apparently without the approval of the state Department of Populace Wellness The unexpected layoffs prompted the state to place two executive leaders of the county agency on unpaid administrative leave Jack Hardin chairman of the Fulton vitality department s board endorsed Wednesday that District Healthcare Director Dr Lynn Paxton and Human Support Director Carol Lawrence were placed on leave Chief of Staff Brian Easom is leading the department The Monday layoffs were done without the prior knowledge or approval of the Georgia Department of Population Strength spokesperson Nancy Nydam reported Wednesday in an email and DPH is reviewing the actions Neither Paxton nor Lawrence could straightaway be reached for comment Hardin stated the layoffs were part of a restructuring and would not affect delivery of services FCBOH emphasizes there is no disruption in HIV STI and TB clinical services because of these actions Nydam noted County strength departments like Fulton s provide a range of HIV testing and other sexual physical condition services Tyson Randolph who informed Healthbeat he was laid off on Monday commented his crew was working on innovative methods to bring services to those who aren t typically reached He worked on populace medical tuition with youth groups and college students in Atlanta s West End where he lives The layoffs will have major implications for the locality s wellness going forward Randolph reported I was in the developmental process of building the bridge with the kids at this area center but my efforts are all out the window HIV testing services are vital in metro Atlanta Fulton DeKalb and Clayton counties were among the counties with the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses in according to the latest available details from AidsVu The U S Centers for Affection Control also in recent times laid off much of its HIV prevention staff including the group working on preventing mother-child transmission of the malady A CDC-funded operation headquartered at Emory University that delivered nearly free home HIV testing kits also will be canceled Population groups across the South have cut back on HIV services due to funding delays and cuts The Fulton County workers laid off this week will be paid through the end of May with additional severance payments in June according to a letter to one employee viewed by Healthbeat The staffing cuts come after the state vitality department lost an estimated million in funds due to clawbacks of Covid-era funding from the CDC declared in March Those cuts resulted in layoffs of temporary contact tracers and other workers at the state agency Georgia district groups including those focused on vaccine outreach and equity also lost grants due to the cuts Healthbeat is a nonprofit newsroom covering residents vitality published by Civic News Company and KFF Medical News Sign up for their newsletters here The post Fulton County healthcare department leaders put on leave after HIV workers laid off appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta