Minnesota State Health Department officials are scrambling following the abrupt termination of millions in federal grants.
The grants, which had already been approved, were intended for systems relating to data collection implemented during the COVID pandemic.
Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham says to have them suddenly yanked is unprecedented.
"We literally got a cancellation of over $200 million in grant funding," says Cunningham. "We received a cancellation on Tuesday that was effective on Monday."
Cunningham says she's most concerned about the local public health departments and community-based organizations that have relied on the money, considering MDH is 50% federally-funded.
"Lots of that money gets passed through our agency to our partners whether they are local public health departments, in cities or in counties, or they are community based organizations," Cunningham explained.
She adds that the cuts will impact their work and says typically, the federal government gives sufficient notice when cuts are necessary in order for the state to find other resources to make sure resident's health is not put at risk.