745: 2024 Pain in the Nation Report, Making Dialysis Safer Coalition

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, September 9, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

NADINE GRACIA:

So the Pain in the Nation report really calls attention to the epidemics of alcohol, drug and suicide deaths that we have been seeing really have a significant impact on the nation and communities across the nation for decades.

SILVERS: 

Dr J. Nadine Gracia, the president and CEO of Trust for America's Health, breaks down her organization's latest report called Pain in the Nation.

GRACIA: 

One aspect of our report that I want to point out in particular that this year's report actually highlights state policies, programs, and other indicators that can be addressed to really create that type of supportive policy environment for mental health and well-being, through various actions that states may be able to take.

SILVERS: 

While the 2022 data has some encouraging statistics, such as a 6% reduction in alcohol induced deaths, Gracia says we need to consider the whole picture.

GRACIA: 

When we look at the past 20 years, deaths due to alcohol, drug, and suicides actually has increased at an alarming rate, by 142%. So while we see this positive sign in the 2022 data, we know that there's still much more work to do. That there are more than 207,000 lives that are lost due to alcohol, drugs, and suicides in our nation.

SILVERS: 

Here's Gracia on what needs to be done really.

GRACIA: 

We need to continue to scale our investments and our efforts really to the magnitude of the crisis, and continue to emphasize how mental health challenges and addiction are not a moral failing, but that this is our people who have need and often have underlying reasons, like loneliness, financial hardships, other stressors and challenges. We saw this through the covid 19 pandemic.

SILVERS: 

The report also highlights the disparities certain communities continue to face. You can find the full Pain in the Nation report by using the link in the show notes.

If your team is looking for unique ways to approach dialysis safety, the CDCs Making Dialysis Safer Coalition may be able to help. Chantel Emery works with one of the coalition partners, the Florida Department of Health.

CHANTEL EMERY: 

The Making Dialysis Safer Coalition has really been a great partner in that, because we're able to bounce ideas off and really challenge the program itself to make sure that we can identify new areas or new ways that we can engage with the outpatient dialysis facilities.

SILVERS: 

The coalition includes 20 dialysis provider organizations, 34 health departments, professional organizations, and more. With the coalition, Emery's team is able to navigate safety in non-traditional dialysis settings, like correctional facilities.

EMERY: 

What we've seen throughout the state is, instead of these inmates going outside to receive dialysis to, you know, outpatient facilities, the correctional institutions are actually building dens, if you will, within the correctional institutions. And so that you kind of have to navigate and apply the guidance where there's a level of safety that can complicate, you know, best practices in infection prevention.

SILVERS: 

Emery adds that the coalition also allows her team to see things from a different perspective.

EMERY: 

We typically will work in silos, right? Instead of, you know, expanding our viewpoint and understanding what is coming down the road, what are other states experiencing. And that's another benefit of working with the Making Dialysis Safer Coalition, because you're able to widen that lens.

SILVERS: 

You can learn more about the Making Dialysis Safer Coalition on the CDC website. We have that link in the show notes.

The Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health, or STRETCH 2.0 initiative, will convene for the third time later this month. ASTHO, the CDC Foundation, and the Michigan Public Health Institute will all have representatives attending, and this session will focus on psychological safety and promoting a culture of equity. The webinar takes place on Wednesday, September 18, at 4pm Eastern  You can join too by clicking the link in the show notes to sign up.

Finally today, make sure you never miss a vote that affects public health. Sign up for ASTHO legislative alerts that will keep you up to date on what is happening in DC and in legislatures across the country. Those alerts will be sent straight to your inbox each and every week. All you have to do is sign up. The link is in the show notes.

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.