What is the Partnership?

The Northeastern North Carolina Partnership for Public Health (NENCPPH) was formed in 1999 to improve the health of people in the Northeastern region of North Carolina and to maximize the available resources and service potential of local health departments by working together to address health needs.

The Partnership is guided by a governing board comprised of the Directors from eleven local health departments which serve 20 counties in Northeastern North Carolina, as well as representatives from the North Carolina Division of Public Health, the North Carolina Division of Child and Family Well-Being, the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the University of North Carolina, and the Department of Public Health at East Carolina University.

The NENCPPH region includes the following counties in Northeastern NC: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, and Washington.

Funding for the Partnership has come from outside, as well as local, sources. In 2021, the NENCPPH counties received federal funding in the form of the American Rescue Plan Act which was funneled through the NC Division of Public Health to the various regions of the State. This funding enabled the NENCPPH region to provide numerous public health workforce initiatives to benefit local public health staff, and ultimately the communities. Funding helped support trainings, bonuses, mini-grants for equipment, internships, a regional care management pilot, a pilot data platform, and a careers in public health campaign. In 2002, the NENCPPH received a federal grant that funded a demonstration project to explore a regional approach to the delivery of core public health functions. These funds supported a Regional Epidemiologist, Regional Health Educator/Health Disparities Coordinator and half-time Director through April 2006. The membership continues to cover operational expenses not covered through outside funding through annual dues and per capita assessments.

Click here to learn more about previous funding.

The NENCPPH’s governing board oversees all activities. Participating health departments provide the fiduciary management of the Partnership’s funds, space and other resources for regional staff.

Why was the NENCPPH formed?

Since 1999, the members of the governing board have been exploring a regional approach to providing core public health functions, which are:

  1. Assessing community health needs and health issues
  2. Addressing those needs and issues by developing policies and programs
  3. Assuring availability and accessibility of health services to the entire population

In more recent years, the health departments in this region, like many others in rural areas, have had to invest more time, money and effort in providing direct health services (core function 3), and, as a result, have been unable to adequately address the other primary functions (core functions 1 and 2). The region’s health departments are especially challenged because out of the 20 counties making up the Partnership, 15 of them, or 75% (2024), are designated as “Tier One” counties, meaning they are among the most economically depressed in North Carolina. In addition, compared to the rest of the state, mortality rates from many illnesses are elevated in this region.

A printer-friendly summary of the Partnership is available by clicking here:

NENCPPH-1-pager-July-2024Download