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Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards; Allison Nickrent, director of governmental affairs at the Illinois...
Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards; Allison Nickrent, director of governmental affairs at the Illinois Department of Public Health, discusses a recent roundtable meeting with a group of state senators; the first of an ASTHO four-part series titled 'Implementing Pharmacist-Prescribed Contraception' is this week; and ASTHO looks forward to continuing its work with Marcus Samo, Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Affairs for the Federated States of Micronesia.
Illinois Department of Public Health Webpage
ASTHO Webinar: Implementation of Pharmacist Prescribed Contraception – Key Policy Considerations
ASTHO Webpage: Member Bio – Marcus Samo
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Tuesday, November 7, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
ROBERT GOLDSTEIN:
There are 351 cities and towns, and one of the first jobs of these public health standards was to say we all have to come together we all have to collaborate to do this.
JOHNSON:
Massachusetts Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards in the state. He says the process is enabled by agreements that promote collaboration.
GOLDSTEIN:
Shared service agreements are when two or more local public health departments come together and share resources, expertise and understanding of the community engagement with their partners so that we can have a broader scope. In some ways, it's trying to get us to that county structure that many states have, but that we don't have here in Massachusetts, where we can bring together closely situated cities and towns and they'll be able to share a particular resource.
JOHNSON:
Goldstein says one such agreement allowed five towns on the Outer Cape of Cape Cod to hire a public health nurse.
GOLDSTEIN:
None of them had the budget to do so, but we brought them all together in a shared service agreement, which meant that they could all invest together in a public health nurse that can travel the 30 to 40 miles between Orleans and Provincetown, provide expertise and support to all those communities, but doesn't need to be fully funded by any one individual local board of health.
JOHNSON:
Goldstein adds this level of cooperation is real progress.
GOLDSTEIN:
That was a huge step forward for Massachusetts, and as we started to create those shared service agreements, we got more and more buy-in to this whole process, to the point now that of the 351 cities and towns, 321 of them have joined a shared service agreement.
JOHNSON:
You can read more about the work in Massachusetts using the link in the show notes.
A legislative roundtable can help build a working relationship with members of a state legislature. This is Allison Nickrent with the Illinois Department of Public Health talking about a recent meeting with a group of state senators.
ALLISON NICKRENT:
We had great conversations about how we take the momentum that public health built during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we bring that into the future and build a really sustainable public health infrastructure across Illinois.
JOHNSON:
Nickrent says the roundtable allowed everyone to bring their concerns and needs to the discussion.
NICKRENT:
One senator talked really specifically about how she's in a rural district and really needs transportation to be able to get patients to the care that they need. Other people talked about nursing homes in their district and federal requirements for surveying and regulating those facilities. And then, of course, we talked about environmental health and how that affects all of our health across the state as well.
JOHNSON:
She adds her team walked away with ideas to improve outreach to lawmakers.
NICKRENT:
It did give us a better idea of how we might be able to market and package those ideas so that the General Assembly as a whole can understand our mission and can help us move towards that goal of a stronger public health system and a modern and resilient public health agency for the state of Illinois.
JOHNSON:
If you want to stay ahead of news in Congress and state capitals across the country, then remember to sign up for ASTHO's legislative alert emails. There's a link in the show notes.
Also today, pharmacists can help increase access to contraception. O'Keyla Cooper has more.
O'KEYLA COOPER:
Join ASTHO tomorrow, November 8, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. For the first of a four-part series on implementing pharmacist-prescribed contraception, gain key insights into policy payment data, workforce, and outreach. Secure your spot by registering via the link in the show notes.
JOHNSON:
Finally, this morning, ASTHO is looking forward to continuing its work with Marcus Samo, Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Affairs for the Federated States of Micronesia. You can read his bio using the link in the show notes.
Before we go, we'd like to remind you to follow this newscast on your podcast player and ASTHO on social media. We are on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
