443: 2023 DELPH Cohort, House Hearing on Preparedness

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, June 16, 2023. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

AVIA MASON: 

I am so excited about the third cohort of Diverse Executives Leading in Public Health because this new cohort brings such a wealth of experience and diversity from across the country.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Avia Mason with ASTHO anticipates an exciting year within the Diverse Executives Leading in Public Health program as the third year kicks off. After two successful cohorts going through the program, the necessity of the initiative is clear.

AVIA MASON: 

We know that having representative leaders is extremely important. And so having staff within public health departments that have leadership opportunities to advance to the next level so that they can be the managers, the supervisors, and even moving to the C-suite positions, is incredibly important for the future of public health.

JANSON SILVERS: 

To learn more about this year's diverse scholars, you can head to the show notes.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing this week dealing with the reauthorization of a pandemic preparedness bill. ASTHO's Jeffrey Ekoma explains the latest in this 'View from Washington, D.C.' report.

Always great to have Jeffrey Ekoma join us here on the podcast. And I know that you mentioned last week that you would actually be monitoring a hearing this week in the house. Any update from that hearing to share with listeners?

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Yes. Earlier this week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing related to the much needed reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act. The hearing also included a discussion of 21 bills up for consideration. As part of the authorization included a bill I mentioned last week, the Biosecurity Infrastructure for Operational Early Warning Act, which includes a proposal to move operational responsibility for all disease detection programs from the CDC to ASPR. Other bills included as part of the hearing include legislation to create a PHMC Advisory Committee, additional authorities for Congress related to future public health emergencies, public health data collection standards, and proposals to improve our medical supply chain. Now, the hearing also included discussions around the importance of proposals related to drug shortages as part of PAHPA. The timeline for the authorization is getting shorter and shorter as time moves along. The current authorization of PAHPA expires on September 30. This is something that of course, we'll continue to track in not just the house, but also the Senate and hope to report some good news shortly.

JANSON SILVERS: 

And obviously a lot of bills in there, but were there any other hearings that went on the Hill this week that everyone else should be aware of?

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Yeah, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, was also on the Hill this week. She testified before the House Oversight Committee on CDC policies and decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Republican members were interested in learning more about CDC guidance related to school reopenings and the feedback that the agency received from outside groups and more broadly, CDC's response to the pandemic. Things from the hearing expressed by Dr. Walensky included ways in which CDC can be best prepared and equipped to handle the next public health emergency, ways to strengthen our data infrastructure systems, expanding the agency's operational authorities to assist in strengthening our public health workforce, and establishing a vaccines for adults program to facilitate the rapid deployment of vaccines.

JANSON SILVERS: 

And then just looking forward, is there anything in particular that you're going to be tracking over the next couple of weeks?

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Yeah, so something that Carolyn Mullen spoke about a couple of weeks ago, and that was the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Now, congressional appropriators are picking up their work and marking up appropriation bills. The House began working on bills earlier this week. In the Senate, it's expected to begin next week. However, there are some concerns with the process that we're carefully tracking. One specific concern is around the announcement from House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger, who noted that appropriators will be using FY 22 spending levels to write FY 24 bills. The sentiment is a slight deviation from agreement as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, that FY 24 bills will be written at FY 23 levels, which are higher than level in FY 22. What is also important to note is a possibility of a 1% across the board cut of funding for all appropriation bills if Congress is unable to finalize FY 24 funding and resorts to a continuing resolution to fund the government past September 30. This sounds like a lot, but overall, this is something that we definitely will continue to track in the next couple of weeks.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Well, it sounds like a lot because I think it is a lot, but that gives us plenty to talk about in the next few episodes, and in the next few weeks. Jeffrey Ekoma, always a pleasure having you on.

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Thank you.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Also this morning, on Monday, the country will celebrate Juneteenth which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. As Dr. Kimberly white Etheridge says it's also important for public health to take time to honor the day as well.

KIMBERLEE WYCHE-ETHERIDGE: 

So, in public health, which is steeped in social justice as its origin, it's essential that we acknowledge the past in order to be able to move forward in optimizing the future for everybody. So, for public health officials, it's important to know, recognize, and act on our history in order to change the public's health for the future.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Dr. Wyche Etheridge says her team and ASTHO as a whole is working to promote and celebrate diversity, inclusion, representation, and belonging in their everyday work.

KIMBERLEE WYCHE-ETHERIDGE: 

Our work in the Health Equity and Diversity Initiative, or the HEDI team, as we say, is an opportunity to not only highlight, but to be the umbrella organization for health equity for ASTHO, and it's about giving voice and ensuring that equity is woven into all of the work that we do.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Finally, this morning, if you're still looking to hire public health professionals, consider joining an ASTHO webinar coming up later this month. O'Keyla Cooper has more.

O'KEYLA COOPER: 

ASTHO and NACCHO are hosting a virtual event featuring the director of the National Public Health AmeriCorps program, AJ Pearlman. The event aims to provide a better understanding of the PHA program, which aims to boost staff capacity and strengthen the workforce pipeline in the public health sector. Director Pearlman will address common misconceptions about the program and share insights into future plans. Registration is available through the link in the show notes.

JANSON SILVERS: 

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're off for the Juneteenth holiday on Monday, but back Tuesday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great holiday weekend.