Allegheny County’s National Health Corps, an AmeriCorps-affiliated initiative that addresses community health, announced that it will close after more than three decades. National Health Corps members served in a variety of health related roles, including for a Bike PGH event in 2023 to 2024. (Courtesy of Keeka Grant-Tomlinson)
Federal funding cuts have ended Allegheny County’s National Health Corps, an AmeriCorps-affiliated program that addressed community health needs by providing health education, care coordination and access to services
On Thursday, the Allegheny County Health Department announced the final cohort from the program’s Pittsburgh site had graduated, bringing the initiative’s more than three-decade run to a close
“National Health Corps members have met people where they are, offering compassion, guidance and practical support during some of life’s most challenging moments,” said Dr. Iulia Vann, director of public health for Allegheny County Health Department, in a statement
Allegheny County has operated the National Health Corps since 1994
Allegheny Health Department Public Health Administrator Keeka Grant-Tomlinson said the program learned this summer it would not receive its usual AmeriCorps funding, which covered about $17,600 per member in the program’s typically $500,000 budget
In 2025, the federal government, as part of the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, announced massive cuts to AmeriCorps. Pennsylvania was among multiple states that filed a lawsuit to force the Trump administration to restore and release the funds
The National Health Corps program stretches across Pennsylvania, California, Delaware, Illinois and Florida. Nationally, the program had nearly 150 members across 78 host sites and served more than 59,000 youths and adults in 2024, according to the website
Allegheny County’s program helped build the region’s public health and healthcare workforce. Many members launched careers in public health, healthcare, social services and nonprofit organizations after completing their service, Grant-Tomlinson said
There were 11 students in the program’s last graduating cohort
Members served in roles at the Birmingham Free Clinic, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Squirrel Hill Health Center, Allegheny Health Department’s HIV/STI Program, Hello Neighbor and Pittsburgh Mercy Family Health Center. Students also worked at a variety of UPMC locations such as UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Second Avenue Commons Health Center
“Many of them just come away saying that this experience changed the trajectory of their careers and their lives, and so I think that the spirit of this, I hope, continues to live on through them,” Grant-Tomlinson said
On Thursday, the program’s website was brimming with student stories from their experience as a member of the program
Grace Drew, a patient healthcare navigator for UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center, described her experience learning the critical role advocacy plays in healthcare through the program on the National Health Corps website on May 7
“I have seen how patients with strong support systems are better able to navigate complex care pathways, ask questions and persist when barriers arise, while others without that support are at greater risk of being overlooked. This has reinforced for me that effective care requires more than clinical knowledge,” Drew wrote in her testimony
Gabrielle Bakaysa, who graduated as part of the last cohort, also served at UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center
Bakaysa said she decided to enroll in nursing school under the same hospital division after finishing National Health Corps
“I’m able to take the skills I learned during my term and apply them clinically in the healthcare setting,” Bakaysa said
Grant-Tomlinson said the National Health Corps helped to fill gaps in services from local organizations and clinics that don’t have enough staffing bandwidth
Bringing in an AmeriCorps member is more cost effective than hiring additional staff, she said
“It’s still kind of hard to believe,” Grant-Tomlinson said. “It’s a loss for this community.”
About the Writer
Megan Trotter is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at mtrotter@triblive.com
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