HPAE Statement on Gov. Murphy’s Budget Announcement

Please attribute the following statement to HPAE President Debbie White, RN:

After years of underfunding, we applaud Governor Murphy and Treasurer Muoio for taking strides to invest in NJ’s public health infrastructure. Our state can no longer afford to neglect infectious disease prevention programs. By investing $32 million to improve capacity within local health departments and $10 million to increase Department of Health staffing and IT capacity, our state can be better prepared to respond to infectious disease outbreaks across the state.

The Governor is also moving in the right direction by investing resources in our state’s only public hospital. University Hospital was designated as one of three regional coordinators that led one of the hardest hit regions during the COVID-19 outbreak. HPAE looks forward to working with the Administration to ensure NJ meets its commitment to invest in UH as we applaud the additional $10 million investment in the hospital as well as $9 million for the designated Regional hospitals.

Finally, we must recognize the tremendous commitment from Governor Murphy to public employees, as he becomes the first Governor in decades to fully fund the state’s debt of $6.4 million to our public pension.

New Jersey continues to face a pandemic outbreak with tremendous challenges and we commend the Governor for the vision to not only survive this pandemic, but to be ready for the challenges that lie ahead.