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Caroline Wroczynski, education manager for the National Organization of State Health Offices of Rural Health, tells us about the impact of National Rural Health Day; Dr. Robyn Cree, epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Caroline Wroczynski, education manager for the National Organization of State Health Offices of Rural Health, tells us about the impact of National Rural Health Day; Dr. Robyn Cree, epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, evaluated the success of the Public Health Disability Specialists Program; the Great American Smokeout is also today; and the CDC has issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory focused on the first case of clade I mpox.
National Rural Health Day Web Page
American Cancer Society Web Page: The Great American Smokeout
ASTHO Web Page: Menthol Capacity Building
CDC Web Page: First Case of Clade I Mpox Diagnosed in the United States
SUMMER JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, November, 21 2024. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
CAROLINE WROCZYNSKI:
At its core, National Rural Health Day is all about visibility and celebration. We want to bring more attention to the unique healthcare needs of rural communities and recognize the people who are out there every day making a difference.
JOHNSON:
Today's the third Thursday in November, which means it's also National Rural Health Day. It was started by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, or NOSORH, in 2011. Caroline Wroczynski is with NOSORH.
WROCZYNSKI:
Since its start, it's grown into this national platform that brings together everyone connected to rural health. It's a chance for stakeholders, organizations, and community leaders to come together, share their successes and stories, and work towards improving health outcomes across rural America.
JOHNSON:
Rural America faces several challenges, including workforce and transportation.
WROCZYNSKI:
If folks have to travel an hour or two to get to their provider to get health care, especially for maternal care, I know that's been a huge issue that we're we've been looking at recently, with a lot of the labor and delivery departments closing, especially even at the critical access hospitals.
JOHNSON:
NOSORH's excited about the Community Stars Recognition Program, which highlights extraordinary individuals and organizations making a real impact on the health and wellness of rural communities.
WROCZYNSKI:
This year, we'll feature 41 incredible stars across 41 different states. You can read each star's profile and discover the innovative ways that they've tackled challenges, collaborated with others, and ultimately improved healthcare access and outcomes for their communities.
JOHNSON:
You can learn more about National Rural Health Day and how to get involved by clicking the link in the show notes.
The Public Health Disability Specialists Program was a collaboration between ASTHO, NACCHO, and the CDC that placed disability specialists in health departments across the country between January 2021 and July 2022. Dr. Robyn Cree with the CDC explains.
ROBYN CREE:
We aim to better include people with disabilities in COVID-19 public health efforts by embedding disability subject matter experts within 28 state, territorial, city, and county health departments, and specialists were tasked with updating emergency plans to better serve the needs of people with disabilities within their jurisdictions.
JOHNSON:
Cree and her team are now evaluating how well the program worked, and what was revealed.
CREE:
The disability specialists noted a major gap in response capacity, which was a lack of staff training in disability and health in jurisdictions where there weren't dedicated resources for health officials with disability expertise. Ongoing education and collaboration through our learning community model was incredibly valuable.
JOHNSON:
Cree says public health can learn a lot from her findings.
CREE:
Health agencies can use lessons learned from disability specialists, such as how to build and strengthen partnerships with the disability community to improve public health capacity to respond to public health emergencies, and inform future equitable response efforts at the state, territorial, and local level.
JOHNSON:
You can read all of Cree's findings in an article in the Journal for Public Health Management and Practice. There's a link in the show notes.
Another event on the third Thursday in November is the Great American Smokeout. This is a great time to prompt your community to begin their journey to quit smoking. Resources for your department are in the show notes.
Finally, this morning, we told you earlier this week about the first case of clade I mpox in the U.S., and now the CDC has issued a Health Alert Network: Health Advisory with more information. You can use the link in the show notes to learn more.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnso. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
