Faced with a $20 million budget cut, Connecticut’s top health regulator is cutting out some services, including ending licensing of funeral home operators and college infirmaries.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) says the cutbacks will allow it to focus on more critical public-health matters, such as ensuring cleaning drinking water, testing children’s blood for lead, and day care inspections.
“These changes are unfortunate, but DPH is working to be more effective and efficient, focusing our resources on services that best serve the people of Connecticut,” DPH Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen said Monday.
The agency said it will no longer license funeral homes, funeral directors and embalmers, college infirmaries, and certain types of clinics. Licensed employees who work at facilities no longer licensed still remain subject to DPH regulations and enforcement.
DPH says it also is streamlining its bidding/contracting procedures to speed up awards.
