Jason Cummins, president of the National Tuberculosis Coalition of America, gives an update on a TB outbreak in Kansas; Dr. Charles Chima, Washington Department of Health chief healthcare innovation and strategy officer, tells us about the “clarion...
Jason Cummins, president of the National Tuberculosis Coalition of America, gives an update on a TB outbreak in Kansas; Dr. Charles Chima, Washington Department of Health chief healthcare innovation and strategy officer, tells us about the “clarion call” for public health regarding telehealth; on ASTHO PROFILE resource focuses on the transition from Healthy People 2020 to Healthy People 2030; and ASTHO has several resources for “Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain.”
National Tuberculosis Coalition of America
ASTHO Telehealth Project Initiation and Scoping Assessment Web Page
Washington State Department of Health Web Page: Telehealth
ASTHO PROFILE Web Page: Making the Transition to Healthy People 2030
ASTHO Web Page: Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain
SUMMER JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, February 21, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
JASON CUMMINS:
A little over 65 cases, so confirmed cases, so that means actual transmission of TB. There are several that have TB infection, which is the germs in your body, but you can't transmit it to others.
JOHNSON:
That's Jason Cummins, president of the National Tuberculosis Coalition of America, with an update on a TB outbreak in Kansas that they've been tracking since January.
CUMMINS:
It's a good reminder that TB is out there, still out there, and relevant. It's not eliminated. A lot of people think that there's a vaccine for it and that we got rid of it.
JOHNSON:
Cummins says there are nearly 10,000 cases annually in the U.S. and public health can work to reduce those cases.
CUMMINS:
They can start by identifying those populations that are at highest risk for TB infection. So, like I mentioned before, TB infection is the germs in your body, but can't pass it on to others, because those that are infected, if not treated, become actual cases and provide education to these populations.
JOHNSON:
Cummins also says working with providers is important.
CUMMINS:
I think, that we can reach out to our private healthcare providers that are, sometimes, are the first line of defense, and see these individuals before public health does and work with them so that we're all saying the same, consistent message about what TB infection is, and talk to providers about what treatment is out there for TB infection.
JOHNSON:
You can head to the show notes to learn more about the current outbreak and about the National Tuberculosis Coalition of America.
The pandemic led to a widespread adoption and acceptance of telehealth, and the Washington State Department of Health recently published a call to action for the role of public health in telehealth. Dr. Charles Chima is with the Washington State Department of Health.
CHARLES CHIMA:
So, how can we broaden that conversation to figure out the role that public health needs to play post-pandemic, to really continue to move that agenda forward.
JOHNSON:
Chima's team dubbed it a "clarion" call for the role of public health and telemedicine and telehealth.
CHIMA:
Our goal was to provide visibility on the ways that telehealth was being used in health's ecosystem in Washington at that time, but also to describe the policy landscape, and then to make recommendations for how public health can play a more important role in moving that forward.
JOHNSON:
The department has been working with rural communities to provide palliative care through telehealth.
CHIMA:
And that has really been very successful. In fact, one of our partners, in the early data they looked at, noticed that for the patients that signed up on this service, they experienced a 68% reduction in utilizing an emergency room for things that could have been addressed if they had access to palliative care.
JOHNSON:
You can head to the show notes for more information on the call to action, including a telehealth report from the Washington State Department of Health.
Also today, the ASTHO PROFILE has many resources for your department to take advantage of. One focuses on the transition from Healthy People 2020, to Healthy People 2030. Health agencies can curate Healthy People objectives and assess how they fit in with shared national goals. You can use the link in the show notes to learn more.
Finally, this morning, ASTHO has several resources for Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain: a provider guide, radio PSAs, flyers, and more are all available on the ASTHO website. You can use the link in the show notes to download those resources today.
That'll do it for today. We're back on Monday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson, you are listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great weekend.
Jason Cummins MPH
President, National Tuberculosis Coalition of America; and Director, TB Elimination Program, Tennessee Department of Health
Charles Chima MD DrPH
Chief Healthcare Innovation and Strategy Officer, Washington Department of Health