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Christine Schell, manager for the department of environmental protection at the Office of Environmental and Public Health Analysis in New Jersey, tells us about an online portal in New Jersey that explains to people the health impacts of hot summer...
Christine Schell, manager for the department of environmental protection at the Office of Environmental and Public Health Analysis in New Jersey, tells us about an online portal in New Jersey that explains to people the health impacts of hot summer temperatures; Dave Baden, deputy director for policy and programs at the Oregon Health Authority, says Oregon wants to get ahead of the heat by helping Medicaid members stay cool; ASTHO has released a set of four comprehensive resources to help agencies align their public health data and systems with their state’s Medicaid Enterprise system; and Sara Black, senior advisor at the National Association for County and City Health Officials, dives into a new report to help agencies improve data sharing.
ASTHO Webpage: Sustaining DMI – Conditions for Enhanced Funding
ASTHO Webpage: Sustaining DMI – A State Health Official’s Guide to Enhanced Funding
ASTHO Webpage: Sustaining DMI – Medicaid Advanced Planning Document Process
ASTHO Webpage: Sustaining DMI – Leveraging Medicaid to Advance Public Health Data and Surveillance
ASTHO Report: Policy Options to Improve Data Sharing Between State and Local Health Departments
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Tuesday, July 30, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
CHRISTINE SCHELL
Heat Hub posts information on the physical and mental impacts of extreme heat, and those most vulnerable to its exposure, and how best to protect yourself.
JOHNSON:
An online portal in New Jersey gives people everything they need to know about the dangerous health impacts caused by hot summer temperatures. Christine Schell says the site includes a map listing cool places around the state.
SCHELL
We call it chill out New Jersey, and it's designated to help New Jersey residents find places to escape the heat. It includes state and county parks, oceans and like beaches, pools and spray pads, public libraries and senior centers throughout the state.
JOHNSON:
The chill out list debuted on Earth Day. Schell says the plan is to continue with updates as often as necessary.
SCHELL
We recently added information on other heat impacts outside of heat related illness, like contact burns from superheated surfaces and deaths related to super-heated enclosed spaces like cars.
JOHNSON:
You can visit the Heat Hub New Jersey website using the link in the show notes.
Oregon wants to get ahead of the heat by giving some Medicaid members helped to stay cool during the hot summer months. Dave Baden is with the Oregon Health Authority.
DAVE BADEN
In Oregon, we have a first in nation climate device benefit that will install air conditioners or air purification systems in those that need it the most, and those that will most likely have impact of a climate emergency over the coming years.
JOHNSON:
Baden says the state has approval to install a variety of devices in eligible homes.
BADEN
So, air conditioners, air purifiers, in some cases small refrigerators to help with keeping medications cold, and in some cases then linking that with generators where needed.
JOHNSON:
He credits Medicaid for working with Oregon on this benefit and encourages others to consider a similar approach.
BADEN
If you're, you know, listening to this as a public health professional, go talk to your Medicaid friends. If you haven't, go do it today and encourage them to really look at and try to move into these expanded benefits regardless of what state that you're in.
JOHNSON:
Read a story about the Oregon plan to equip residents for climate change by clicking the link in the show notes.
Also today, ASTHO has released a set of four comprehensive resources to help agencies align their public health data and systems with their state's Medicaid enterprise system. The documents offered tools to improve planning and outline strategies for sustainable financing. Download all four resources now. The links are in the show notes.
Finally, this morning, a new report to help agencies improve data sharing is also available online.
SARA BLACK
And that included identifying factors that impact data exchange. That included legal and regulatory factors, resource constraints, departmental alignment and communication, as well as the importance of leadership and governance.
JOHNSON:
Sara Black is with the National Association of County and City Health Officials, also known as NACCHO.
BLACK
So, in terms of the policy approaches that rose to the top when we were looking at resource constraints, it was really around some strategies for being able to pursue sustainable and diverse sources of funding. Thinking about the staffing, really about building workforce capacity through education and training on legal concepts that support state and local data sharing. As well as through training the legal staff on the program issues that relate to state and data sharing.
JOHNSON:
ASTHO, NACCHO, and the Network for Public Health Law teamed up to write the report. The CDC funded the work. You can download the document using the link in the show notes.
Before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player and connect with ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.
I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
Manager, Environmental and Public Health Analysis, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
