Organizational Culture and Staffing Models at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This paper recounts how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic at executing its core public health mission of readiness and response. The paper then evaluates the current state of the agency’s workforce and organizational culture, noting a shift towards administrative functions and away from public health response. The paper then explores the history of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) as well as the readiness and response in the military health system, specifically in areas where CDC mission execution broke down. Finally, the USPHS model is explored, as are policy considerations for its expansion and integration into the CDC’s primary workforce