548: Thankful for Public Health, New Guide to Manage Respiratory Illness

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, November 20, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

STEVEN STACK: 

It's a great joy to be here today to wish you a very happy Public Health Thank You Day.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO President and Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack in a video message recorded for Public Health Thank You Day.

STACK: 

It is such a joy to be part of this mission driven community who is so giving of themselves to help ensure that others have the best possible opportunity in their lives to reach their full human potential.

JOHNSON: 

More than 200,000 people work in public health across the U.S. Stack wants them to know they're appreciated.

STACK: 

On behalf of the leadership of ASTHO and the fellow state health officials, I want to thank you for all you do to ensure that every American has the opportunity to reach their full human potential, and that we work so hard together to ensure that we promote healthier communities and healthier people around the nation.

JOHNSON: 

Also today, public health agencies working hard to protect people from COVID-19, RSV, and influenza over the fall and winter. ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia says ASTHO is one of several public health associations that worked on a discussion guide to help jurisdictions get ready for challenges that could impact their communities.

MARCUS PLESCIA: 

So ideally, this is leadership in public health departments, whether it's the state or local level, having discussions with leadership in the health care systems.

JOHNSON: 

Plescia says the guide outlines actions to consider right now.

PLESCIA: 

So, the first one is we really want conversations with healthcare systems about getting their staff vaccinated. The second thing is we really want to encourage conversations with healthcare systems about when they discharge a patient from the hospital to a long-term care facility. Can they go ahead and give that patient their vaccination before they leave and then, the third thing is more general, you know, can they really be aggressive about stocking, distributing, and monitoring COVID-19 vaccines out in the healthcare system.

JOHNSON: 

He says the document also includes long-term approaches.

MARCUS PLESCIA: 

So first of all, we want healthcare systems and public health systems to have a conversation about can we track hospital capacity beds and patients better across the entire state and second of all, we want to really look at this issue of crisis standards of care and if you don't have those in place, what can you do to work towards getting those in place.

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

You can download a copy of the discussion guide by clicking the link in the show notes.

The One Health approach to public health is gaining traction as communities realize the connections between people, animals, and the environment. Dr. Megan Nichols is at the CDC. She says it's easy to get started with the One Health program.

MEGIN NICHOLS: 

All it involves is working to establish relationships and that could be a phone call. It may be attending a meeting or a gathering, where you're bringing together these different perspectives to talk about some of these complex issues and really start a dialogue.

JOHNSON: 

Nichols says the One Health approach is needed now more than ever,

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

Hear more about the One Health approach and a new episode of the Public Health Review podcast available now everywhere you stream audio.

NICHOLS:

I would challenge everyone this week to pick up the phone or write an email to someone in a sector that you haven't connected with yet. So, maybe that's from the public health perspective, reaching out to someone in the animal agriculture department at your state or local agency. I'd encourage those who are maybe in the healthcare sector to reach out and touch base with some of the animal health care professionals.

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

Finally, this morning, Public Health Thank You Day is today. As we interview people for the newscast, we've been asking them to tell us what they're thankful for. We have another thank you note today. It's by ASTHO’s Brian Lentes.

BRIAN LENTES: 

Emergency preparedness comes to mind. Health agencies really provide that to the public and in the case of situations regarding major events, whether they are natural, or even man-made. I'm very thankful for the services that are provided in the communities and the day-to-day responsibilities of these individuals for the health agencies.

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

The American Public Health Association has a webpage with resources to help you celebrate the day. We have 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're 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.