Kansas Health Institute Announces Role as a Hub Partner of the National Network of Public Health Institutes

TOPEKA, KANSAS, July 2023 – The Kansas Health Institute is proud to announce its role as a regional Hub and Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) partner. As one of nine Regional Innovation Hubs under the National Network of Public Health Institutes Hub Model, KHI, in collaboration with other partners, will provide technical assistance serving PHIG recipients in Region 7, which includes Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

NNPHI is one of three national partners, alongside the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the Public Health Accreditation Board, leading technical assistance for the 107 PHIG recipients. The grant program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of an unprecedented $3.84 billion federal Public Health Infrastructure Grant Program aimed at helping public health departments across the United States strengthen their workforce and infrastructure. PHIG funding also gives awards directly to state, local and territorial health departments to provide the people, services and systems needed to bolster public health agencies and departments across the country, many of which were severely impacted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

“KHI is excited to take on this new role supporting public health innovation,” said Kari Bruffett, KHI president and CEO. “As an organization that informs health policy through research, education and engagement, KHI has a long history of working with state and local public health departments. We look forward to collaborating with partners in Region 7 to help grantees address infrastructure and workforce challenges in the wake of the pandemic.”

The National Network of Public Health Institutes leverages local, state and regional expertise to support governmental public health agencies. The hub structure maximizes success by leveraging critical assets within the NNPHI network. The hub model is a proven framework that has evolved over 20 years to leverage local expertise, foster public-private partnerships between institutes and governmental public health systems, and foster multi-sector solutions. KHI is qualified to serve this role because of its long-standing commitment to building relationships and facilitating conversations that drive public health solutions.

“Through a grant provided by CDC, I am honored to announce the official launch of the National Network of Public Health Institutes’ Innovation hub model. These hubs are responsible for supporting the needs of our nation’s public health departments working on the national Public Health Infrastructure Grant efforts,” said Vincent Lafronza, NNPHI president and chief executive officer.

“Some of the nine hubs also work with spokes, which are institutes in neighboring jurisdictions who have expertise and relationships in other states and territories. Working together as a unit, the hub and spoke model enables strong coverage of all U.S. jurisdictions. We are all committed to working in harmony so that together we mobilize innovation, leverage local knowledge and relationships, share resources, reduce duplication of effort, and provide sustainable, technical supports that result in substantially strengthened public health capacities available to every U.S. community.”

Learn more about the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
Learn more about the Public Health Infrastructure Grant National Partners.
Get more information about KHI’s role as a hub partner.

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This work is supported by funds made available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Center for STLT Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce, through OE22-2203: Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems grant. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.