752: EPA Wastewater Gap Initiative, New PH Warehouse Expansion

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, September 18, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers.

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

ZACH LOWENSTEIN: 

This initiative was originally launched as a joint pilot between EPA and USDA in 2022 and 11 communities across the southern US. And earlier this year, EPA announced the expansion of the initiative to 150 additional communities over the next three years.

SILVERS: 

This is Septic Smart Week. The EPA Zach Lowenstein explains the agencies related Closing America's Wastewater Access Gap Initiative.

LOWENSTEIN: 

We provide communities with an overall wastewater infrastructure assessment. A solutions plan, which can consist of wastewater infrastructure options, costs, funding, a roadmap for implementation. Help with preliminary engineering work, assistance with funding applications, and ongoing active community engagement.

SILVERS: 

Lowenstein hopes the initiative eventually can help all disadvantaged communities with wastewater access issues.

LOWENSTEIN: 

We're actively looking to help more communities right now. So, I did want to mention, in order to reach our goal of 150, I'm hoping that anyone listening to this podcast can help us. And if you're aware of any communities that are experiencing failing septic systems or don't have any access to functional wastewater systems, please let us know.

SILVERS: 

Look for links to information about the initiative and Septic Smart Week in the show notes. ASTHO also has a proclamation declaring this week as Septic Smart Week. There's a link in the show notes.

For several years now, the Guam Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program has worked to upgrade a warehouse in the southern region of the island. John Lujan with Guam Public Health says the expansion is complete.

JON LUJAN: 

It plays a critical role in management and distribution of our resources and supplies. We re-rent the warehouse. It helped us just making sure we're more organized and get things out more timely. Things are better maintained.

SILVERS: 

The upgrade was important, especially when you consider how isolated the island is and what happened during the pandemic.

LUJAN: 

During COVID-19 response, one of our biggest shortfalls was the lack of storage space. And this facility belongs to the Department of Public Health, and it was kind of underutilized. So we pushed to get it under our jurisdiction, and we've identified a storage space, because pre-COVID we were just we thought program was working off a 40-foot container.

SILVERS: 

Lujan’s team also has upgraded the warehouse inventory management approach to better track and distribute supplies.

LUJAN: 

Electronic system allows us to track inventory levels in real time, which provides visibility and quantities. It notifies us when we order stock. It improves our accuracy and identify what we actually have, when does it expire, what funding source paid for that. And it provides us real time automated reports, as well.

SILVERS: 

ASTHO's inspire readiness series, tells us how Guam managed the expansion. We have a link to that in the show notes.

Also today, the Healthy Brain Initiative Data for Action Project is an effort to help states integrate data on brain health and caregiving into public health planning efforts. Meghan Fadel, with the Alzheimer's Association, says the second cohort has three specific objectives.

MEGHAN FADEL: 

The first is conducting a data analysis related to brain health, dementia, or caregiving. The second is producing a tool for sharing that data. And the third is getting those results in front of key governmental decision makers to inform, and to help make those very important and very real connections between brain health and the other chronic conditions, and larger issues that we face in our communities today.

SILVERS: 

Fadel says the results of the program bode well for the future of the project.

FADEL: 

Ultimately, I think that one thing that we've learned is that this model works. I think that there's power in collective action and bringing states together from all different types of communities in our nation, but all focused around this specific topic and in cross collaboration across state agencies on caregiving and dementia.

SILVERS: 

Listen to more of our conversation with Fadel in the latest episode of the Public Health Review podcast. You can listen everywhere you stream audio. There's also a link in the show notes.

Finally, in tomorrow's newscast, how Minnesota reduced preventable deaths.

TANYA CARTER: 

So, our 2023 data is preliminary right now as it stands, and we have seen a decrease to date in about 70 deaths. Which every life matters.

SILVERS: 

Minnesota's Tanya Carter tells you how they did it tomorrow morning right here on this newscast. Follow the show, and you'll have it on your mobile device at 5am. Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of the screen you're looking at right now.

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.