272: Oregon’s Regional Health Equity Coalitions

ROBERT JOHNSON:

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. I'm Robert Johnson.

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

JEFFREY EKOMA:

The opioid epidemic continues to be a very important priority for the current administration.

JOHNSON:

Jeffrey Ekoma is on ASTHO's government relations team. He and ASTHO's senior vice president of government affairs and public relations, Carolyn Mullen, were in the White House last week for a summit in recognition of National Recovery Month.

EKOMA:

They talked a lot about the different resources that are available to state and territories, particularly $1.5 billion in grants from SAMHSA to address the opioid epidemic.

They also talked about resources to really address the issue in rural communities, and also resources that are being given to other entities such as the Department of Justice to really address the epidemic in areas that are seeing circumstances that are much different than other areas.

JOHNSON:

Ekoma says the administration used the event to announce new and recent actions taken as part of the nation's approach to the opioid epidemic.

EKOMA:

The tone was very optimistic. The tone continued to show how important this is for the administration, one. But two, to really continue to tell the stories of advocates and those who are on the front lines and making changes in their communities and continue to use the White House as a medium to share those stories and really continue to make the impact.

JOHNSON:

You can read the White House account of the summit and the roundup of recent actions taken using the links in the show notes

ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser is heading to the White House today. He's there for the bipartisan conference on hunger, nutrition, and health. The administration is expected to announce a five part plan to address hunger and nutrition in the U.S. We'll get ASTHO's take on the meeting later this week.

Oregon is launching several new Regional Health Equity Coalitions to give communities a stronger voice on public health matters.

Danielle Droppers manages the program for the Oregon Health Authority.

DANIELLE DROPPERS:

The Regional Health Equity Coalition model is unique in that it recognizes the impact of structural racism on the health and wellbeing of communities of color, and that Regional Health Equity Coalitions are working to address those root cause issues that perpetuate health inequities across the social determinants of health.

JOHNSON:

Droppers says the state is becoming more diverse, leading to the need for new coalitions around Oregon. With the addition of the new coalitions, she now manages 10 groups. Droppers says the model is delivering for local communities.

DROPPERS:

So last year, while we only had six coalitions, they were actually able to meet 14 of their policy and systems change goals. And we've estimated that, over the life of the Regional Health Equity Coalition program, there have been 74 policy and systems change goals that have been met.

And so, this is huge when we're considering addressing the ways that structural racism shows up in our laws and systems and that create significant barriers to health for our communities.

JOHNSON:

Droppers adds the coalition arrangement honors community wisdom and takes the guesswork out of health equity responses.

DROPPERS:

Then, while you know we're very well-meaning, and you know we are on some level guessing at what people need with the information that we have at hand, which for health agencies is usually limited to health trend data, and if that's the only part of the context that we have, we know that there are other elements of people's lives that are impacting their health.

JOHNSON:

You can read more about Oregon's Regional Health Equity Coalitions using the links in the show notes.

Across the states and territories, public health leaders continue to engage with communities uncertain about vaccines.

O'Keyla Cooper tells us about one state's work to address vaccine hesitancy.

O'KEYLA COOPER:

States and territories work hard to educate and inform the public about the benefits and risks of vaccines. ASTHO spoke with Greg Endler and Michele Roberts from the Washington State Department of Health as they share reflections on working to improve vaccine confidence in their jurisdiction, both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full article in the show notes.

JOHNSON:

Finally today: is it time to discover your WHY? If your work days have become a grind, then the answer probably is yes. Make plans now to join ASTHO's latest Insight and Inspiration event on Wednesday October 26th. Experience the Simon Sinek Golden Circle with master trainer Stephen Shedletzky. Sign up using the link in the show notes.

Also, make sure to sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly newsletter. It's another great way to stay in the loop on the latest in public health.

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO News and information.

I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.