U.S. Representatives Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) and Jason Crow (CO-06) are leading a group of Colorado Representatives urging the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue funding the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC), which resides within the Colorado School of Public Health. It has conducted instrumental public health research in the region for nearly 20 years, but the CDC recently decided not to fund the RMPRC for the next five-year funding cycle.
Because the facility relies on CDC funding to execute its work, the group of Colorado legislators sent a message to CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, expressing concern over the sudden and unexplained halt in funding. They requested an explanation for the decision, which could impact the public health and well-being of Coloradans across the state.
“We believe that maintaining funding for the RMPRC is essential to ensuring all Coloradans and residents of the Rocky Mountain Region achieve health equity by optimizing social-emotional, mental, and physical health,” wrote the members. “We ask the CDC to provide us with more information on why the decision not to fund RMPRC was made despite their receiving a fundable score. We believe that the merits and successes of the RMPRC are self-evident based on 20 years of successful programming, research, and community engagement.”
The Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC) is housed in the Colorado School of Public Health on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The RMPRC is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded Prevention Research Center (PRC). As a PRC, it works to identify public health problems and focus on the development, testing, and evaluation of public health interventions that can be applied widely, particularly in underserved communities.
The RMPRC was first funded by the CDC in 1998. Since then, the CDC has funded it every five years for nearly 20 years to serve the Rocky Mountain region.
Signers of the letter include Representatives Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Jason Crow (CO-06), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), and Joe Neguse (CO-02).
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