HJBR Jan/Feb 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JAN / FEB 2023 31 the health, safety, and welfare of nursing home residents. Goal 2: Provide for the efficient submission, review, and approval/denial of nursing home emergency preparedness plans. Strategy: LDH will implement a technolo- gy solution that will allow for the electronic submission of nursing home emergency pre- paredness plans. This will streamline the ap- proval process and allow for tracking of the plans throughout the approval process as well as communication among the appropriate stakeholders. Initiative 8: Improve the Sustainability of Public Water Systems The state has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into public water system improve- ments over the past several years; however, many cases of infrastructure decline remain, increasing the urgency of upgrading systems and pursuing water system consolidation. In 2023, the Department will begin as- signing letter grades to systems, providing residents with more information about their water system, and encouraging systems to proactively pursue needed improvements Commitment 2 / Initiative 7 / Goal 2 (cont.) Commitment 2 / Initiative 8 / Goal 1 and consolidation opportunities with other jurisdictions. The Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRLF) and the Bipartisan Infra- structure Law fund water systems investments in improvements, with disadvantaged com- munities receiving priority. • The DWRLF Supplemental Fund pro- vides partial loan forgiveness for drink- ing water infrastructure investments. $26.9 million is available this year • The Emerging Contaminants Fund pro- vides 100% loan forgiveness for projects designed to remove contaminants from drinking water such as perfluorooctano- ic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFAS/PFOA), or other emerging con- taminants such as manganese. $11.3 mil- lion is available this year. • The Lead Service Line Replacement Fund provides partial loan forgiveness for replacing water lines that contain lead. $42.4 million is available this year. Goal 1: Utilize Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to continue to stabilize the state’s water infrastructure. Strategy: The DWRLF will apply to EPA for grant funding for each funding category as a project list is developed. COMMITMENT 3: Invest in and Empower #TeamLDH Initiative 9: Improve #TeamLDH Culture, Recruitment, and Retention In FY22, LDH Human Resources invested in #TeamLDH culture by laying the founda- tions for greater equity, diversity, and inclu- sion among team members and healthcare governance; implementing a streamlined hir- ing process; and developing and implement- ing formal succession plans for 60 positions. Achievements included increased pay for san- itarians, facility custodians, and positions with historically high turnover; new hybrid and flex- ible work arrangements; the establishment of a new Employee Engagement and Train- ing unit; and the launch of the FY22 Executive Internship Program. LDH remains committed to these long-term investments, which will result in increased em- ployee performance, selection of LDH as an employer of choice, and career longevity. In FY23, LDH will build upon this progress by cre- ating a recruitment strategy, including the cre- ation of a dedicated LDH Careers webpage and engagement in existing and new LDH- hosted job fairs, and expanding the succes- sion planning program to retain aspiring lead- ers. LDH is committed to building a diverse workforce that meets our performance goals, promotes individual growth, and enhances engagement within our Department as well as the communities that we serve. Our FY22 Executive Internship Program il- lustrates this commitment. A total of 11 col- lege/university students from across Loui- siana joined various LDH agencies where they learned about public service, including the inner workings of the largest state agen- cy through offices such as Medicaid, OPH, Health Standards, and the Bureau of Media and Communications, among others. In FY23, LDH will continue to invest in im- proving recruitment by continuing the Exec- utive Internship Cohort program and com- pleting succession plans for 20% of critical positions throughout the Department. This will provide growth opportunities and a more sustainable workforce model within LDH.