The Houston Health Department (HHD) requests City Council approval of a contract with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for the City’s Immunization and Vaccines for Children Program Services. The contract period is from September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. The total contract amount is $1,405,595.00. DSHS reserves the option to renew the contract period up to four additional years.
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 all subsequent supplemental awards, if any, pertaining to the City’s immunization program for the budget period and renewal period, if any, not to exceed five years.
Funding from DSHS is requested for the continuation and expansion of immunization outreach activities for the Houston area. HHD conducts intense education/outreach, partnership building, vaccine preventable disease surveillance, and safety-net service delivery in the community to increase immunization coverage rates and prevent potential vaccine preventable disease outbreaks for all age groups.
The Immunization Program utilizes funding from the CDC, the State of Texas, and the City. The program employs 60 staff members who perform various immunization related activities for approximately 334 City of Houston Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers, 564 schools, 1,583 child care facilities, 60 Head Start Centers, 11 Federally Qualified Health Centers, and 15 birthing hospitals. The staff also performs case management to 121 perinatal hepatitis B clients and has worked with 24,000 WIC clients since 2005 in order to establish medical homes and/or other vital human services.