731: Healthcare Ready, NC Retail Program Standards Network

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, August 19, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers. Now today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

TOM COTTER: 

Healthcare ready works very specifically to ensure healthcare access and disaster and any disruptions are mitigated and lessened as much as possible.

SILVERS: 

Tom Cotter is the executive director of Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit that leverages relationships between the public and private sectors to make sure communities can withstand and recover from disasters.

COTTER: 

Most recently, Healthcare Ready actually participated in the Hurricane Beryl response by helping medical supply warehouses and distribution centers come back online with the electrical grid prioritization list to ensure that shipments aren't delayed to medical facilities and patients were able to access care.

SILVERS: 

Cotter says it is public health and healthcare working hand in hand.

COTTER: 

What we try to ensure is that if there are patients and communities that need outreach, they have access to healthcare resources, or health resources, I should say whether that is public health resources, whether that is healthcare, whether that is just being able to pick up over the counter pharmacy items.

SILVERS: 

Healthcare Ready also has several tools that communities or public health leaders can use. One tool allows people to see the operating status of pharmacies and other healthcare resources in a disaster. Another is the community disaster resiliency tool.

COTTER: 

What we do is overlay healthcare infrastructure data with morbidity data and vulnerability index data so that there's a comprehensive picture of what communities are the most vulnerable, what communities are the most resilient, and that allows people to make decisions around where limited resources can go before, during and after disasters.

SILVERS: 

You can learn more about Healthcare Ready by using the link in the show notes.

The North Carolina Retail Program Standards Network was formed in 2012 and has been working to keep North Carolina safe ever since. Here's Wendy Bell with Mecklenburg County Public Health.

WENDY BELL: 

Some of the things our network has been able to assist in was in Food Code adoption by conducting a self assessment of standard one against our 2017 Food Code, where we provided our state agencies with potential gaps that could lead to our state not meeting standard one. And that's not all the network is doing. We have also had the opportunity to create and maintain our North Carolina Compliance and Enforcement manual that holds our step by step guidance on how we address risk factors and risk factor interventions.

SILVERS: 

For other jurisdictions that want to start a network but aren't exactly sure how. Here is Bell's advice.

BELL: 

I would say, to just do it. Our program did not start as an initiative or with grant funding. We are so grateful that our retail food specialist saw the vision over 10 years ago, and we've been holding strong since then.

SILVERS: 

ASTHO has a brief on retail program standards on its website. The link to that is in the show notes.

Also today learn about the Public Health Data Modernization Implementation Center program in an upcoming ASTHO webinar. ASTHO, PHAB, NMPHI, and CDC leadership will be in attendance to answer all of your questions about the new program. Sign up to attend by using the link in the show notes.

Expanding health equity remains a top priority. ASTHO has a new resource. O'Keyla Cooper has more.

O'KEYLA COOPER: 

AA recent episode of ASTHO's Public Health Review podcast explores how state health departments are expanding health equity through innovative programs. Hear from the South Carolina Department of Health and the Hawaii Department of Health as they discuss the importance of securing robust funding through non-traditional partnerships to sustain these efforts. Listen to the full episode via the link in the show notes.

SILVERS: 

Finally, this morning, as we mark the three year anniversary of this daily news show. We spoke with public health leaders across the country about what this newscast means to them and their work. Here's Dr Susan Kansagra, the North Carolina state health officer and Assistant Secretary for Public Health.

SUSAN KANSAGRA: 

So it's always a great opportunity to hear from lots of people that I admire and respect and talk about their views on different topics.

SILVERS: 

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.