The Houston Health Department (HHD) requests City Council approval of an ordinance approving and authorizing a contract between the Houston Health Department and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Services.
The grant period is from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016 for the amount of $1,825,349.00. The total project period is from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018. HHD also requests City Council to authorize the Director or his designee to act as the City’s representative with the authority to accept and expend approved funding as soon as awarded, and to apply for and accept all subsequent supplemental awards, if any, pertaining to the grant.
Further, HHD requests that City Council authorize the Mayor to execute all contracts, amendments, agreements and documents in connection with this grant with the approval of the City Attorney for the entire project period of the grant. The STD Program activities are designed to control and prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and viral hepatitis.
The STD Program shall establish and maintain collaborative relationships with local businesses, community clinics, and community-based organizations who serve populations most affected by syphilis, as well as with appropriate local and institutional individuals and groups (e.g., providers, hospitals, mental health and intellectually disabled facilities, infection control nurses), in order to implement the local Rapid Response Plan. Contractor shall continue to enhance the current syphilis surveillance system, including (but not limited to) improving reporting of providers and laboratories, increasing the number of sites that report electronically, etc.