Federal cuts by the Trump administration dealt a deadly blow to an important public health rapid needs assessment for Buncombe County following Hurricane Helene.

The survey, used in communities that have experienced severe and high-profile threats to public health, was a local casualty of the dismissal of about at the Department of Health and Human Services.

As part of those cuts, the administration shuttered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention division that helped local governments conduct the CASPER survey, according to Buncombe County spokesperson Stacey Wood.

鈥淭he CDC staff who were going to be providing support for the program here in Buncombe County were cut and their jobs were eliminated, so we no longer have the CDC support that we were going to be relying on,鈥� she said.

The county received notification that the program was ending on Tuesday, just hours before it planned to conduct the on April 2 and April 3.

The CASPER, Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, survey identifies emergency and disaster response needs. Though it was 鈥渙riginally designed to provide information during a disaster response, it can also be used for 鈥減opulation-representative data鈥uring other disaster phases,鈥� according to the CDC website.

The tool was used in Flint, Michigan after the city faced a long term water and lead exposure crisis. have leveraged the tool, according to CDC data.

A gap in information post-Helene

Before it was canceled, the survey was to be administered by public health employees door-to-door to better understand community needs, identify public health issues and inform Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

It was expected to gather data on housing status, employment, insurance, why people did/did not evacuate, household damage (including mold and mildew), safety and other public health information, Wood said.

The survey was also intended to serve as a touchpoint for households who might need help connecting with resources, including well water testing kits and disaster case management.

鈥淭he data that CASPER provides helps public health leadership to identify issues and then develop solutions 鈥� and also to track that data and monitor that data to respond to future issues,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 about learning what鈥檚 going on right here now, but also developing plans and preparing for future issues that we might see.鈥�

For example, data collected on why people did or did not evacuate could help Buncombe County officials develop a stronger evacuation plan for the next disaster, Wood said.

The Buncombe County survey, which was in the works for four months, leveraged the expertise of 16 CDC staff as well as 25 county staff, 17 state employees, and several community partners, Wood said. Four medical students from Nebraska also planned a trip to Buncombe County to assist with the program.

In a press release on Tuesday, county officials said they would seek alternative routes for data collection.

鈥淐ounty staff plans to explore alternative methods to gather valuable data on post-Helene community needs and will continue to support the complex and unique needs of our survivors both now and in the future,鈥� the release said.

Wood said these specific federal cuts 鈥渄o not have an impact on the employment status of Buncombe County employees.鈥�