Staff Sharing in Public Health: A Checklist for Communicating with Elected and Appointed Officials

State and local governments continue to look for innovative ways to meet their financial obligations and contain costs. At the same time, they must become employers of choice to attract and retain the talent that can deliver high quality services. As local health departments seek innovative approaches to workforce recruitment and retention, one strategy is to share personnel who hold essential skill sets, whether on a one-time or ongoing basis. These staff sharing arrangements, while not yet common among local health departments, have the potential to improve efficiency and effectiveness of services while containing costs. Sharing personnel, positions, or services can address existing staff shortages, help jurisdictions make the most of available resources, enhance flexibility, improve communication and coordination, and even add capacity for more or improved services.