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2023 Year in Review

Rendering of Dove Springs Public Health Facility

Department Highlights

Austin Public Health created a Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Unit (REDI) under the Office of the Director to focus on racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. The REDI Unit supports a network of 60 staff and five REDI initiatives including The Equity Council, The Equity Academy, REDI Updates & Roundtables, Communications Equity Review Committee (CERC) & Everyone’s Quality of Life Initiative (EQOLI).
APH is showcasing how we are tackling racism as a public health crisis at local and national conferences including The National Network of Public Health Institute (NNPHI), Texas Association of City and County Health Official (TACCHO), Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC), and National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA).
APH launched the Equity Academy where every new employee hired receives 16 hours of training to develop a shared analysis and understanding of systemic racism and other forms of inequities and generate strategies to address them in public health; to date, 160 employees have received training, and we are on track to have the entire department trained by the end of Fiscal Year 2025.

Office of Medical Director
and Health Authority for Austin-Travis County

The National League of Cities invited a Youth Council Member and Dr. Chiquita Eugene, the administrator of the Youth Initiative's Office, to participate in the U.S. Department of Labor's Panel on Youth Workforce.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) awarded APH's Office of Vital Records (OVR) the 2022 EXEMPLARY FIVE STAR AWARD. OVR met DSHS's exemplary criteria, including local registrar engagement, local registration of birth and death records, and oversight of vital records.
Ten of eleven Equity Line Staff are certified Community Health Workers to DSHS.
The Texas Environmental Health Association recognized APH’s Environmental Health Services Division (EHSD) with the Ruth Hendy Award of Excellence in Food Safety. EHSD met the criteria for planning, implementation, education, program management, external involvement, and training. This recognition is awarded annually to one health department program in Texas.
APH sent nine staff members to Denver, Colorado, to attend the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) conference.
Through the leadership of Director Adrienne Sturrup and the engagement of this year's city-wide campaign coordinator, the City of Austin Combined Charities Campaign raised more than $416,000, beating last year's total by $19,000 and surpassing the $400,000 goal.
The Local Health Authority (LHA) is a member of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region 6 Climate Adaptation and Public Health Resilience Workgroup.
The OMD participated in a 3-day Cyanosymposium held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
APH is one of the few health departments that is participating in the future of preparedness for future pandemics through the University of Texas's Center for Implementation in Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modelling: Multi-Scale Outbreak Decision Support Tools in conjunction with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS).
The OMD initiated and supports the Children's Mental Health, Opioid Crisis Response, the Trauma Recovery Center and Diversion Center planning.
The OMD continues to convene and support the Travis County Healthcare Collaborative work towards the creation of a county-wide care coordination and data-sharing platform.
Coordinated the formation of the APH Ethics Committee.
Completed a program evaluation of WIC (Women, Infants and Children) clinics.

Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness Division

Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (EDSU)

Processed approximately 151,000 incoming lab reports.
Investigated 5,626 reports of illness (i.e. COVID-19, algal exposures, and other reportable conditions).
Educated approximately 170 providers or provider practices on reporting laws and other surveillance matters.
Investigated 198 outbreaks or clusters of illness in schools, long-term care facilities, and throughout the community for (i.e. COVID-19, influenza and foodborne pathogens).
Engaged with or chaired over 15 local and national workgroups to improve our knowledge base and identify best practices.
Updated and consolidated COVID-19 public-facing dashboards providing streamlined weekly updates.
Spearheaded the revision of APH’s TB policy to align with current DSHS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
Aligned the City's transport bloodborne pathogen exposure policy/procedure to the Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 81 which recommends that each City department has its own infection preventionist to handle their staff's exposures.
Responded to concerns related to harmful algal blooms and collaborated with Watershed Protection and Austin Water to prepare for future incidents.
Coordinated with the building and fire board of appeals to amend their code to prevent waterborne ease transmission in newly built structures.
Created and published an opioid overdose dashboard to meet council resolution no. 20220616-053.
Presentations and papers published:
- Carbapenem-resistant and ESBL-producing Enterobacterales | IDR (dovepress.com)
- Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Annual Conference presentation in June 2023, Salt Lake City, UT (Increased Suicidality during Pandemic Period in Travis County, Texas, 2020-2021 by V Heines, MPH, and H Rucas, MPH, APH).

Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)

The Department Operations Center (DOC) was activated in response to the following events:
- Winter Storm MARA
- MPOX
- West Nile Virus
A Community Assessment for Public Health Response (CASPER) was carried out to evaluate our community's preparedness and readiness.
Members of the PHEP Team gave a presentation at the NACCHO Preparedness Summit on 'This is a Test' Radiation Game.
Members of the PHEP Team gave a presentation on our CASPER at the Esri International User Conference (ESRI) Conference.
A Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was established for Austin-Travis County.
We actively enhanced our preparedness through planning, hosting, and participating in various exercises, including:
- Airport Family Assistance Full Scale Exercise
- Wilco Family Reunification Full Scale Exercise
- Mass Care TTX
- Name That Strain TTX
- Cold Weather Shelter TTX
- Austin Water TTX

Office of Vital Records (OVR)

In Fiscal Year 2023, we
- Registered 22,353 birth certificates.
- Registered 6,476 death certificates.
- Issued 49,930 certified copies of birth and death certificates.
- Generated $1,042,424 in Gross Revenue.
- Were awarded the Exemplary Five Star Award for Local Registration by the Vital Statistics Section of DSHS. “The Five Star award acknowledges Vital Statistics Partners who understand the importance of vital statistics and their impact on the citizens of Texas. This award honors Partners who go above and beyond the duties of birth and death registration. ”

Health Equity and Community Engagement Division (HECE)

Social Services Agreements Administration Unit

Community Based Resources, Community and Family Services and HIV Resources Administration Programs.
Social Service Contracting.
Negotiated, executed and renewed 216 agreements, resulting in over $66 million in social services designed to assist, uplift and empower community members in Austin-Travis County.
Successfully hosted five Request for Proposals.
Strengthened our contract management database, by building out Power BI reports, advanced formatting and developing system exhibits, and identifying various application-wide programming bugs.

Contract Compliance Unit

Monitored 188 contracts & and grants held by 85 partner agencies to ensure compliance with City terms and conditions.
Conducted annual risk assessment for all active HECE social services contracts.

Health Equity Unit

Conducted mobile outreach health screenings.
2,138 clients served by the Quality of Life (QOL) Preventive Team Initiative.
4,175 units of preventative health services provided by QOL.
Client survey – 764 total – 100% Satisfaction rate.

Reach in Reach Out Team

Promoted Health Equity programs and events in more than 20 different zip codes throughout Travis County through flier distribution.
Language Access
- Provides translation services for Asian, Burmese, Nepalese, Spanish, and Arabic that contribute to the success of health fairs and events hosted by APH/Health Equity Unit.

Equity Line

Assisted and coordinated awareness of programs and events through outbound calls to community members and participants.

Health Fairs

Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community Health Fair - Provided services to more than 275 people through health screenings (blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol testing), vaccines (adults/children), and eye testing. Prize raffle giveaways, food distribution, school supplies, and more.
Fiesta de Salud - Provided services to more than 250 people through health and vision screenings; immunizations for anyone 6 mo. and older; community resources; LIVE entertainment and fun activities for the whole family!
Take a Loved One for a Checkup - Provided services to more than 201 people through health and physical screenings; immunizations for anyone 6 mo. and older; community resources; senior and children dance team entertainment, ice cream and more fun!
National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS - Week long of activities with 9 community partners and 196 participants.

Community Health Worker (CHW) HUB

Graduated 2nd Class of DSHS Certified Community Health Workers in Fall 2023.

CHW Coalition

Officially established with a community collaborative Mission, Vision, and Purpose.
Name: Community Health Worker Alliance of Central Texas (CHW ACT).
Hybrid in-person/ virtual meeting format with the largest attendance of 140+ people all around the State of Texas.

CHW and PHEP

Collaborated to create standard operating procedures for CHW Strike Teams in an Emergency.
Non-Certified CEU Training Created to train CHW on safely visiting community members' homes and general personal safety in the field.
The 1st Emergency Drill with HECE CHWs was held on January 4, 2024, at the DOC.
The 2024 Goal is to offer training to community CHWs and incoming CHWs.
20 CHW Emergency Backpacks and 100 Community Bags are prepped and ready to go for the next emergency.

Maternal Infant Outreach Program (MIOP)

76 moms served.
Supported 25 births .
Hosted Birthing Justice Documentary Screening for Black Maternal Week with over 75 participants.
Hosted Let's Talk about Chocolate Milk and Paint for Black Breastfeeding Week with 22 moms in attendance.

Office of Violence Prevention (OVP)

The Office of Violence Prevention leads project planning for the Givens Park Community Initiative in partnership with Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), Austin Police Department (APD), and other partners to increase the sense of safety in Givens Park.
Areas of focus and Accomplishments:
- Crime prevention through environmental design.
- Urban Forestry pruned trees to improve sight lines to enhance park safety.
- Hungry Hill Foundation cleared heavy debris from grow zones.
- Watershed Protection contracted to removed invasive species, tree stumps and brush from Grow Zones. As well as installed new educational Grow Zone and Rain Garden signs.

Community Engagement and Collaboration

Givens Park Advisory Board was established as a recommendation from community members.
Life Anew facilitated a community talking circle on October 18th, 2023, to discuss shared mission, vision, goals and accomplishments for the Givens Park community.
Community Violence Intervention (CVI): Life Anew and Hungry Hill Foundation are providing services to individuals in the park to help increase safety.

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Data Tracking

APD reported a reduction in crime from June to August in 2023.

Firearm Transfer Assistance Project (FTAP)
Purpose is to co-create a comprehensive firearm surrender protocol in Austin and Travis County in collaboration with stakeholders in the criminal/legal system, domestic violence prevention groups and individual with lived experience.

Key Accomplishments:
- Hired FTAP Program Coordinator.
- Contracted with National Consultant to support development and implementation of protocols.
- Conducted approximately 35 stakeholder interviews with about 45 individuals.
- Held two stakeholder meetings:
  - FTAP Stakeholder Meeting (October 20, 2023).
  - FTAP Working Group Meeting (December 19, 2023).

Trauma Recovery Center (TRC)
OVP brought the first Trauma Recovery Center in the State of Texas to Austin-Travis County. African American Youth Harvest Foundation’s Harvest Trauma Recovery provides evidence-based mental health trauma treatment and wraparound services to survivors of violent crime and their families.

Key Accomplishments:

Official grand opening and ribbon cutting occurred on Nov. 1, 2023. Local, state, and federal elected officials and leaders attended to show support.
In the first six weeks of operation, 179 people have sought services at the HTRC with 96 individuals meeting the criteria for the program.

Planning and Evaluation

Age Friendly Austin (AFA): APH & AFA staff hosted an event at the Gus Garcia Recreation Center on Sept. 28, 2023, to promote the Senior Homestead Tax Exemption and financial resources. Over 100 people attended the event and received valuable information.
AFA held its 2nd Annual Older Americans Month kickoff event on May 6, 2023, at Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center. The event was successful with over 100 of older adults who participated and were engaged, including various vendors and three different interpretation services in Spanish, Vietnamese, and ASL . The event organizers also conducted a short survey to gauge older adults' perception of available City services.
AFA, along with Aging Is Cool, AGE of Central TX, Family Eldercare, and numerous other partners, celebrated Ageism Awareness Day on Oct. 7, 2023.
AFA launched a new website called "Senior Services Hub for Older Adults in Austin". It is designed to provide a wide variety of information on available resources.
AFA in partnership with Aging Is Cool obtained a micro-grant from AARP. They used the funds to conduct two Walkability Audits at locations identified as having high traffic, a dense population of older adults, and are near HEB grocery stores. The primary goal was to identify barriers in the area that would impede safe food access.
Community Health Assessment (CHA)/Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP): Staff completed the community and partner forums as part of the CHIP development process. The three priority areas are: built environment, financial stability, and mental health. CHA/CHIP staff and its partner organizations opted to form three workgroups dedicated to finalizing each priority area's objectives and strategies.
Fast Tract Cities (FTC): is seeking a grant from the HIV Resources Administration Unit (HRAU) to fund Stigma Index project with the fund be managed and implementation plan developed by Cardea Services.
In observance of World AIDS Day, the HIV Planning Council partnered with WhatsintheMirror, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, and Avita Pharmacy to celebrate the event in a form of a festival, highlight social justice issues, and advocate to eliminate HIV and mental health stigma through a healing justice framework. Two awards were presented: 7th Annual BlaQ Awards and the HIV Planning Council Community STAR Awards, and the EHE AmeriCorps VISTA produced a short video involving 2 consumers sharing their stories and asking and answering difficult questions.

Accreditation

APH has successfully completed a review process to maintain national accreditation status through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). In maintaining our accreditation status for another five years, we continue to demonstrate that our department meets PHAB’s quality standards and measures and has the capacity to continue to evolve, improve and advance to continue improving the health of Austin-Travis County residents.
Achieving reaccreditation was a department-wide effort with significant contributions from more than 100 staff, including individual contributors, management, and our Executive Leadership Team. In Fall 2023, PHAB found that APH fully met all 31 Measures across 12 Domains.

Administrative Services Division

Human Resources Division (HR)

The HR Team has completed approximately 335 hire movements for fiscal year 22-23..
Since October 2022 the HR Unit has attended 46 job fairs, community events, conferences, and workshops in an effort to connect with the community, share information, and provide employment opportunities.
As of 7/25/23, APH retention rate was 92.2%. We increased the APH retention rate to 93.07 as of 11/9/23.
Since 2022, APH turnover decreased from 17% to 14%.
HR was able to get a retention stipend approved by Human Resources Department (HRD) for phase 1 and 2 for all eligible APH staff for 2023-2024.

Health Information Technology

Configured technology for the new Manor WIC Clinic.
Implemented a texting solution to send texts to Persons Experiencing Homelessness informational texts about clinics, weather dangers/shelter openings, etc.
Seven employees achieved Certified HIPAA Professional certifications.
Resolved 5,199 incidents/tasks.
Automated via MS PowerApps internal hiring documents and accounts payable invoices.
Continued implementation of EpiTrax for an electronic-based system capable of receiving and monitoring diseases and case investigations.
Created an APH Business and Data Strategy documents.
Completed physical hardware and software inventory.
Documented current state of IT processes.
Developed and implemented a new system to manage IT projects and intake work requests from internal stakeholders.
Implemented a 24/7 payment portal for payment of invoices originated by Environmental Health Services, Food and Pool permitting and inspections.
Completed technology upgrades in training rooms and media room.

Public Information and Marketing

The Public Information and Marketing Team’s communication work involves organic and paid media to further our reach to the many communities that make up Austin-Travis County. The culmination of these efforts are public health campaigns.

Public health campaigns:

Strive for diversity and inclusion in choosing images and wording.

Create easy-to-read content that is culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible to all audiences.
Work to reach audiences in communities facing health inequities using data-driven ad placements in specific geographic locations.
Stive to improve access to public health information by translating it into multiple languages and thereby ensuring people proficient in other languages than English can access it.

The Public Information and Marketing Team’s 13 campaigns in 2023 reached more than 18 million people. This outreach was possible through the creation of hundreds of media placements & outlets (flyers, social media posts, advertisements and more) that were shared, often through local vendors (newspaper, radio and TV stations).

Flu + COVID-19 (Be Your Child's Hero)

1,783 coloring comic books ordered by organizations
4 million+ impressions
8 placements/outlets
15 media providers

Children's Mental Health

30,000 conversation-started cards designed, printed, and distributed
2 million+ impressions
12 media placements
10 media providers

Mpox (Be Free To Feel)

2,.9 million+ impressions
8 - 100+ placements/outlets (apps, website)
1 media provider

National Public Health Week

3.1 million+ impressions

9 placements/outlets
4 media providers

Back-to-School

1.7 million+ impressions
6 placements/outlets

12 media providers

Mosquito Prevention - Fight the Bite!

2 million+ impressions
13 media placements
17 media providers

Take a Loved One (TALO) for a Health Checkup Event

1 million+ impressions
14 media placements
11 media providers

Boo The Flu Vaccination Event

500K+ impressions
3 media placements

Flu-A-Palooza, Fall Festival & Del Valle & Trunk or Treat Event

500K+ impressions
4 media placements

COVID-19 Q&A

90,000+ impressions
More than 700 engagements

Healthy Holidays

150K+ impressions

More than 13,000 engagements

HIV/AIDS STAR Awards for World AIDS Day

32K+ impressions
6 media placements

Holiday Food Safety

10,000+ impressions
3 media placements

Media Relations

APH’s Public Information Officers work with local, state and even national reporters to share the department’s messages with the public. This work can come in many forms – press releases with information and quotes that can be shared to a station’s website, press conferences that allow for reporters to hear from and ask questions about hot topics, and individual interviews where reporters can speak with our many experts on a number of the efforts we’re working on each and every day.

Published 42 press releases.

Hosted 11 press conferences.
Scheduled 60+ media interviews.

Translations

Public health information is for everyone, that’s why it’s critical for Public Information and Marketing to work hand-in-hand with Language Access. A total of 364 messages were translated in 2023.

126 Spanish translations
52 Vietnamese translations
40 Arabic translations
38 Simplified Chinese translations

Public Information Requests (PIRs) and Community Action Forms (CAFs)

APH was assigned 774 PIRs and responded to 49 CAFs in 2023.

Original Video Production

The use of video to tell your story has never been as important as it is today as much of the public receives information from videos they watch on the news, in apps and messages between friends. The Public Information and Marketing Team has expanded its outreach to include video production showcasing the work being done across the department.

126 total videos uploaded to YouTube
52 public videos uploaded to YouTube
2 YouTube/Facebook Live shows produced: 2

Web Engagement

APH has hundreds of pages on austintexas.gov detailing the various programs and services the department offers to the public. These pages are regularly checked for quality assurance, accessibility, and search engine optimization.

14,347 total page views
12,259 unique page views

Average Engagement: 85.4%
Conversions or People who took an action: 1,023

Our top three most-viewed pages are:

Mobile Food Vendor Permit Guide.
Guía de permisos para los vendedores ambulantes de comida (m Mobile Food Vendor Permit Guid in Spanish).

Services page

Email Newsletters

The Public Information and Marketing Team regularly publishes community newsletters covering health topics and upcoming APH events.

26,428 subscribers
31 community newsletters published

According to MailChimp, the email marketing platform used by APH, the industry average of open rate (the percentage of subscribers that open emails) is 21.3 %. APH’s open rate for community newsletters is 34%.

Social Media Content & Advertising

APH’s various social media channels were used to highlight a number of important health topics in 2023. Advertising buys helped expand that outreach throughout Austin-Travis County.

Topics include:

Black History Month

AAPI Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Juneteenth
Get it While It’s Free (Covid-19 Vaccine)
Juntos Podemos

Updated Isolation and Post-Exposure Precautions

Exercises

The Public Information and Marketing Team, together with Public Health Emergency Preparedness, led a Citywide cold weather emergency communications tabletop preparedness exercise ahead of the winter season.

Advertising Spend, Per Audience

Hispanic (18-65) - ~$566,730.74
African American (18-65) - $557,275.25
People at risk of mpox - $162,349.82
Asian American Pacific Islander (18-65) - ~$23,539.44

Budget total: ~$1,309,895.25

Other materials produced by Public Information and Marketing Team:

Brochures
Certificates
Signage
Digital templates
Bus wraps

Designs for community engagement giveaway items
Designs for t-shirts, bags, and other employee items

Environmental Health Services Division (EHS)

EHS sought to streamline and improve services to the business owners of Austin-Travis County and surrounding cities in fiscal year 2023.

Spring of 2023, EHS launched the capability of accepting online payments for retail food/pool customers, developers and childcare business owners.
In the summer of 2023, EHS expanded lobby and application intake operations for mobile food business owners from two days a week in the mornings only to every day during all operating hours.
EHS began the journey to certify APH as one of the premier food safety programs in the country by enrolling in the U.S. FDA Retail Program Standards.
In 2023, EHS achieved verified conformance with in two areas of the Retail Program Standards. The division also secured a federal grant to continuously move forward in meeting these national Standards.
100% of our Managers and Supervisors completed the City’s newly created Equity Academy curriculum that dealt with Race and Racism; Intersectionality, Implicit Bias, and Microaggressions; and Health Equity.

Environmental Vector Control Unit
- 927 vector surveillance services conducted.
- 26,317 mosquitoes trapped .
- 491 environmental complaint investigations.
- 2,615 pools and spas inspections.

BG – Sentinel Trap is a mosquito surveillance tool that uses carbon dioxide to attract mosquitos such as the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Gravid Trap is a mosquito surveillance tool that is specialized to capture female mosquitos looking for a suitable place to lay their eggs.

EHS partnered with APH PIO to develop online language access resources for the purpose of supporting our area business partners with their food safety education efforts.
Staff conducted refresher training on iSpeak (language access phone service) to bridge any communication barriers with persons proficient in another language during routine inspections or application intake.
In October, EHS was granted the Ruth Hendy Award of Excellence in Food Safety by the Texas Environmental Health Association.
EHS is participating in the citizen-led Food Equity Board to help create Austin's first Food Plan designed to improve equitable access to food for all Austin residents.

Food Safety Programs

Customer Service Unit – Customer service staff issued 14,402 food and 1,882 pool/spa permits. They processed 4,907 special event permit applications. Customers were assisted via phone (9,828 calls), e-mails (15,428 responses), and in person (8,588 customers). Cashiers processed >$5.8 million in transactions.
Consumer Health Unit – Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) conducted 10,778 retail food inspections. Staff responded to over 400 retail citizen food complaints. Approximately 105 foodborne illness investigations were conducted.
One Stop Shop (OSS) Unit – OSS reviewed 336 new construction plans and conducted 1,142 preopening inspections for retail food and pool facilities. Activities at OSS are conducted in partnership with the Development Services Department.
Special Permitting Unit – EHOs conducted 3,513 mobile food permitting and field inspections. Permitting inspections are conducted in partnership with the Austin Fire Marshal’s Office and the Travis County Fire Marshal’s Office every week. They also visited multiple special events and conducted 1,995 food safety inspections that included SXSW, ACL and Formula 1 events. Major special events are reviewed in tandem with the Austin Center for Events, a multi-agency collaboration.
Travis County/Municipal Interlocal Unit – Retail food, pool/spa and code enforcement inspection services are provided to Pflugerville, Lakeway, Westlake, Bee Cave, Rollingwood, San Leanna, Volente, Sunset Valley, Manor, and Travis County (outside Austin city limits). Inspection activities include coordination with various departments in the cities listed above.

Community Services Division

Neighborhood Services Unit (NSU)

The six Neighborhood Centers across the City of Austin provide emergency rent, utility and food assistance, bus passes health screenings and information & referrals to low-and moderate-income families in need. NSU also provides seasonal services such as child safety seats, fans, coats for kids, and free income tax form filing.

In collaboration with the Central Texas Food Bank and Amazon, the NSU offers a home delivery program. Eligible individuals can sign up for monthly deliveries of pre-packed food boxes. Over 1,000 households have food boxes delivered to their doorstep monthly. Over 25,000 deliveries have been made since the start of this program!

Basic Needs Services – In 2023 we served over 80,000 unduplicated people for basic needs services.

Public Health Nursing Services – The NSU nurses provide free health screenings at our six Neighborhood Centers. The following health screenings are available for free: Blood Pressure, A1c Testing, Blood Sugar Reading, Cholesterol Testing, Pregnancy Tests, and general Health Information & Resources.

Rent Assistance Program - In 2023 we helped 257 people avoid eviction. The NSU staff processed $306,640 in rent assistance payments to eligible individuals.

Plus 1 Utility Assistance Program – In 2023 the NSU staff helped 204 people keep their lights on by processing utility assistance applications using Austin Energy Plus 1 funding.

Fans – In 2023, through a collaboration with Family Elder Care, the NSU provided fans for 2,017 people in 600 households during a record-breaking Summer heat season.

Self-Sufficiency Case Management Program – NSU social workers provide employment supports, help clients apply for benefits, provide case management services and can provide bus passes, rent assistance, food pantry assistance and other services to actively participating clients.

29 Transitions Out of Poverty (TOPs) – TOPs are people in households achieving an income of 125% of the poverty level or greater, through our Self-Sufficiency Case Management Program and have been tracked for at least 90 days.

Austin Healthy Adolescent (AHA)

The AHA program was accepted as a FY24-FY28 grantee for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) grant. AHA secured $838,100 per year for a total of $4,190,500 over a 5-year period.
AHA served over 1,000 youth utilizing evidence-based curricula that focuses on youth development/sexual health education through in-school and
out-of-school programming.
AHA started a Teen Fatherhood Group program that provides additional support, resources and education to fathers to play a positive role in their child's lives.
AHA held the 1st annual LGBTQIA+ youth fair that had over 10 youth vendors with over a 100 community members in attendance.
The AHA program created an additional youth leadership development program called Peer Advisory Committee (PAC) that helps provide youth an opportunity to serve in an advocacy role to make impactful change in their communities.

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Austin Youth Development (AYD)

10 youth successfully completed the program.
Five youth received a Skilled Trade certificate from Skillpoint Alliance. All have found employment in their field.
Four youth completed internships with Watershed Protection where they are currently employed.
One youth received a Skilled Trade certificate from Skillpoint Alliance and completed an internship with Transportation and Public Works where they are currently employed.
AYD was awarded a $401,000 grant from Austin Juvenile Justice and Truancy Prevention in which Go ATX Youth was created.
Staff attended seven career fairs throughout the year to recruit youth and engage the community.
Staff and youth completed First Aid and CPR training.
Staff and youth served at two community events with NSU.
Staff and youth worked during the Winter Emergency as support staff.

Community Youth Development (CYD)

The Community Youth Development Program (CYD) served over 1,300 youth ages 6-17 years old with positive youth development services focused on reducing juvenile delinquency rates in the 78744 Dove Springs neighborhood.
Hosted a Resource Fair at Dove Springs District Park in collaboration with the CYD Community Collaborative Committee (CCC) and the George Morales Dove Springs Recreational Center with over 150 community members in attendance.
Hosted a week long Spring Break Camp in collaboration with the City of Austin Park Rangers and the Southeast Public Library serving over 20 youth.
Collaborated with the Austin Central Library to host 'CYD Under the Stars' where families were able to spend the evening at the library rooftop getting to know other CYD families have a family night together.

A Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) student won the City of Austin ArtConnect contest. The contest spotlights the 40,000+ Travis County households without reliable, high-speed home internet service. Alejandra Becerra (Ale) was recognized at the Tech For All Fest earlier this month, and received a certificate and a cash prize of $400.

Community Services - Early Childhood

Served as a key partner in the development of the community’s next 5-year Success By 6 strategic plan (2024-2028).
Launched a bilingual public health training series for child care providers in coordination with APH staff from various Divisions, offering five trainings attended by 96 providers between May-September 2023.
Presented, alongside other APH staff, a session on public health at a Child Care Director Symposium, that was attended by 24 child care program directors.
Increased language justice in APH early childhood work by offering simultaneous Spanish-English interpretation and Spanish translation of materials for public health trainings, a Dove Springs community engagement meeting, a Family Based Child Care provider conference, and emails to child care providers.
Coordinated Child Care Task Force, School Public Health, and Child Care Forum meetings to provide public health updates and peer sharing opportunities for leaders of child care programs and PreK-12th grade schools.

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Sent 26 public health emails to 578 child care programs, 21 emails to over 200 schools, and six emails to nearly 300 summer camps. (example at left).
Created a contact list of over 700 Austin-Travis County child care providers in the Warn Central Texas system to receive emergency alerts.
Supported Early Childhood Council to hold two meetings in the community to engage with and hear from early childhood stakeholders, including 36 home-based child care providers.

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Collaborated with staff of multiple City Departments and with community stakeholders in response to Council direction to amend the Land Use code to allow for child care in more parts of the City, reduce parking requirement for child care programs, and include child care in the City’s Equitable Transit Oriented Development plan.
Distributed emergency preparedness materials for children and families in multiple language through WIC, Austin Public Library, Neighborhood Centers, and Workforce Solutions Capital Area. (examples at right).
Engaged with design-build firm constructing the Dove Springs Public Health facility on the plans for a high-quality child care program, and released a Request for Proposals for a child care operator.

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Provided start-up funds for eight new Pre-K 3 classrooms.
- Three in Austin ISD, four in Del Valle ISD, and one in Leander ISD.
American Rescue Plan Act funds supported:
- Wage stipends for 444 child care staff and teachers and 31 Ready Families Collaborative family support staff.
- 43 scholars to pursue higher education in the field of early childhood education.
- Pre-K 4 for 89 children in Del Valle ISD.
- Full-day Pre-K 3 for 137 children in Austin ISD.

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Early care and education for 334 children in Pre-K Partnership classrooms.
Training in Quality Child Care Matters curriculum for 30 home-based child care providers.
Base grants and wage supplements to 10 child care programs to pilot providing care during non-traditional hours (during early morning hours, on weekends, and/or after 6 p.m. on weekdays). Pilot results were positive:
- 100% of grant recipients reported the funding had a positive impact on children and families. In addition to supporting staff members’ cost of living, wage supplements were reported to improve employee morale and engagement. All of the providers expressed an interest in continuing to implement and/or expand NTH care at their facility, although 44% of the nine participants who have already completed the pilot said that they could not do so without continued funding.
Led a hands-on hand hygiene activity for over 70 young children at the Austin Public Library Kids’ Block Party.

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Community Services - Family Connects (FC)

Assisted new mother with twins to reconnect her electricity with Austin Energy and collaborated with the neighborhood center to replenish spoiled food and obtain other supplies.
Launched the Family Connects program into Ascension Seton in October 2022.
Onboarded an OB physician consultant to Family Connects.
Launched APH FC Car seat pilot program and distributed our first client a car seat, alleviating the risk of a delayed hospital discharge and securing infant safety.
First of four marketing bilingual billboards posted.
189 families requiring food support were provided HEB gift cards valued at $150.
247 families received a 2-week diaper supply.
932 families with newborns have received a Family Connects visit since Sept. 1, 2022.

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WIC (Women, Infants and Children)

Served 24,972 participants in the Central Texas area.
Del Valle WIC clinic grew in participation by 82%, from 945 to 1,724.
Provided bilingual Facebook live cooking demonstrations twice a month with over 10,000 views.
Provided bilingual breastfeeding education Facebook live events twice a month with over 8,000 views.
Additional Facebook live events offered during World Breastfeeding Month and during formula shortages to provide the public with additional breastfeeding support and resources.
WIC staff participated in over 74 outreach events throughout the community, resulting in over 1,310 individual interactions with the public.
Had 9,600 followers on ATX Family Care Facebook page.
WIC Call Center received 66,023 incoming calls and answered 581 live text chats.
WIC Mobile Unit locations served over 10 locations on a regularly scheduled basis to provide more accessible locations to clients experiencing transportation and other challenges, especially in food access desert areas of Travis County.
Shopping & Delivery Team had five shoppers that completed over 785 grocery shopping and delivery services and 22 breast pump deliveries were completed in collaboration with Mom’s Place.
Mom’s Place:
- Provided over 3,006 encounters in lactation service:
- Increased in African American client breastfeeding rates by 10%.
- Conducted 624 phone consults.
- Issued 457 breast pumps.
- Trained/mentored 248 students.
- Responded to over 829 referrals.
- Conducted 1,184 lactation consults.
- Partnered with a taxi service and the Shopping and Delivery Team to provide program enabling services to families with transportation barriers.
- Continued expansion of partnership with other community organization thru coalitions, workgroups, and social media platforms.
Continued expansion of Mother Friendly Worksite locations throughout COA facilities.

Disease Prevention Health Promotion

Communicable Diseases Unit (CDU)
"Break The Cycle"

Decrease incidences of HIV, STIs, and TB.
Provide clinical services in Sexual Health, TB, and Refugee Clinics.
Provide Public Health Investigations for HIV, TB, and STIs.
Provide TB, STI and HIV Outreach services.
Provide supportive Social Work services.

Sexual Health Clinic

Provided 10,866 patient visits.
Screened 7,000 patients for HIV and syphilis.
Started 319 patients on HIV PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Evaluated 33 patients for Mpox, including 11 positive cases.
Achieved patient satisfaction rate of 98% for excellent customer service.
Achieved rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 on Google reviews.

TB (tuberculosis) Clinic

Provided 3,845 patient visits.
Achieved 100% therapy completion rate for all active TB cases.
Achieved patient satisfaction rate of 98% for excellent customer service.

TB Outreach Programs

Provided over 8,400 DOT (Directly Observed Therapy) and video DOT visits to all active TB cases for the duration of treatment.

Public Health Investigation Program: TB

Conducted Public Health investigation on 56 active TB cases and over 500 contacts to these cases.

Public Health Investigation Program: HIV/STI

Investigated and conducted Public Health Follow-up on 1,750 newly-diagnosed HIV and syphilis individuals.

Social Work Services

Provided social services to 142 newly-diagnosed or out-of-care HIV patients.
Provided PrEP and nPEP services to 319 patients.
Enrolled 30 chronically homeless HIV patients into Rapid Rehousing and housed 17 of them.

Targeted Testing/HIV Outreach Program

Provided 1,883 STIs and HIV screenings.
Delivered over 240,000 condoms to the Austin/Travis County area.

Refugee Health Clinic

Provided 10,355 patient visits for refugees, victims of trafficking, special immigrant visa recipients, and asylees.
Provided 11,293 immunizations.
Top 4 countries of immigrants' origin: Cuba, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , and Ukraine.

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Immunizations Unit

Continued response to COVID-19 and to Mpox emergencies.
Shots for Tots/Big Shots (SFT/BS).
27,481 children immunized.
13,274 adults immunized.
Vaccines for Children/Adult Safety Net (VFC/ASN), ImmTrac, School/Childcare Audits.
87 VFC/ASN providers.
809 new registered organizations in ImmTrac.
488,535 total consented clients in ImmTrac.
86 audits completed.
Mobile Vaccination Program (MVP).
Expanded outreach to all ages.
Administers all CDC recommended vaccines.
Appointment Line
34,630 calls received.
10,634 outbound appointment reminder calls.
16,487 patients booked.
717 shot records translated/transferred.
10,067 patients deferred for future appointment due to lack of capacity.
95% clinic utilization.
Health Disparities Reduction Program (HDRP).
67 tabling events.
256 immunization focused health education event provided to the public.
Materials provided to businesses, clergy, and educational institutions.

Chronic Disease & Injury Prevention Program

899 encounters were provided through the injury prevention program, including 341 free cribs distributed through the Crib. Distribution Program in fiscal year 2023. The crib distribution program received “Model Practice’ recognition by the National Association of City and County Health officials.
Receipt of the Implementing Overdose Prevention Strategies at the Local Level (IOPSLL) grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials which led to expansion of community-based harm reduction efforts, media/communications strategies and data improvement efforts for prevention of opioid overdose deaths.
The Impaired Driving Action Team (IDAT) formed two interdisciplinary workgroups and has worked to develop a pilot program for expansion of alcohol monitoring devices in the Travis County DWI court program and implemented a media campaign on impaired driving.
In partnership with the Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council (MHFC), recognized 23 elementary and middle schools that received Exemplary school recognition by having comprehensive health and wellness programs and policies addressing pillars of health.
Provided technical assistance to two faith-based communities towards achieving their ministry’s health goals focused on physical activity, nutrition, safety, weight management, and stress reduction.
Educated the community through media campaigns on active living, healthy eating, diabetes prevention and control, tobacco prevention and cessation, and COVID-19 through digital, social, radio, and print media with a reach of over 4 million impressions
The Breathe with Pride project partnered with LGBTQ2IA+ community organizations to implement two tobacco-free event or workplace policies. Trained 20 providers to better support LGBTQ2IA+ community members in tobacco cessation. Provided outreach at 10 events and created awareness campaign on the harms of menthol and flavored tobacco.
Awarded 14 Healthy Living Mini-grants to community-based organizations to support healthy living.
Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, services were provided by 19 Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the HEART ATX project (Healthy Empowered and Resilient Together ATX), including nine CHWs at APH, as well as CHWs at affordable housing organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers. CHWs provided 16,508 total encounters on COVID-19 vaccination, chronic disease prevention and social determinants of health referral and participated in 420 tabling events and 187 block walking events. 2861 referrals were made for health and social services needs.
26 series of the Diabetes Education Empowerment Program (DEEP) were provided, reaching 216 people. Participants significantly increased their physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. 1-on-1 nutrition counseling was provided to 20 individuals to improve diabetes management, with 100% of clients reporting making health changes.
Completion of the first year-long cohort of PreventT2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s evidence-based program for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes Care Program (DCP) is an intensive case management program for low-income clients with uncontrolled diabetes. In FY2023, there were zero diabetes related emergency room visits or hospitalizations for DCP clients. DCP saw a 67% increase in referrals in FY23. 5 clients graduated from the program, with an average of 3.1 points decrease in hemoglobin A1C.
Through the Fresh for Less program, there were 2,131 customer encounters. Customers had access to nutrition education, sampling, and affordable, fresh produce and healthy staple good provided by Farmshare Austin and Sustainable Food Center.