This week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) sent layoff and separation notices to 170 employees whose positions were funded by recently terminated federal grants.

Additionally, “at risk” notices will be going to MDH staff at risk for layoffs due to seniority rules around layoffs. An estimated 300 notices are going to MDH employees today. Nearly 20 employees slated to start with the department in the last week have had their offers rescinded.

These layoffs and separations are a direct consequence of the unprecedented and unexpected action by the federal government last week to cut more than $220 million in previously approved federal funding. These layoffs and separations will impact services across the agency that Minnesotans rely on, including those that support the state’s response to measles and H5N1, wastewater surveillance, the state’s public health laboratory, and community clinics and vaccination efforts.  

“We are working now to figure out how much of this critical public health work we can save and continue,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham. “The sudden and unexpected action from the federal government left us with no choice but to proceed with layoffs immediately. It is devastating to be forced to reduce critical services and give notices to so many dedicated public health professionals because the federal government decided to renege on its commitment to our state. They left us in the lurch, with no advance notice, no close-out period, halting work that would have helped us address chronic gaps in the system and be better prepared for future threats.”

The impact of these cuts to our public health system also include:

• Significantly reduced support for nursing homes, including funding for HVAC upgrades and staff training around disease prevention, as well as support for county jails and other congregate settings.  
• Slower response times to infectious disease outbreaks.  
• Immediate suspension of partner-led vaccine clinics and emergency preparedness activities.  
• Reduced laboratory support for hospitals and health care systems that could delay lab results and patient care.  
• An inability to upgrade the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection, the state’s immunization information system, which means it will remain outdated.  
• Suspension of the INSPIRE Program, a program to get middle and high school students excited about and interested in public health.  
• Reduced funding for Tribal Public Health.

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) epidemiologists oversee a team of 8 to 10 interviewers (“Team Diarrhea”) who are part-time MDH employees hired from a pool of MPH students at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. 

Each student works approximately 20 hours per week. Team Diarrhea’s hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p. m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Scheduling night and weekend hours for interviewers increases the likelihood that cases will be able to be reached for interview.

Team Diarrhea was first formed in 1995. From 1999 through 2022, a total of 215 students have worked as part of Team Diarrhea.