The NACCHO Podcast Series

Ian Goldstein sits down with Francis Higgins, NACCHO’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program Analyst, to discuss NACCHO’s Environmental Scan Report. The Environmental Scan looks at local health department prevention activities related to the opioid epidemic, and Francis shares the report’s findings and how local health departments can use it as a vital resource to understand the epidemic. 

Emily Yox sits down for a Skype chat with Duncan Stephenson, the Deputy Chief Executive for the Royal Society for Public Health in the United Kingdom to discuss his Health on High Street project. This model uses data to score shops found on UK High Streets to create a measure to determine the “healthiness or unhealthiness” of 70 UK towns and cities. This model is now migrating to the United States to rank the healthiness or unhealthiness of U.S. main streets, with a final report coming out in early

In a nod to National Preparedness Month, Ian Goldstein sits down with Michelle (Shelly) Schwedhelm, executive director for Emergency Management & Biopreparedness at Nebraska Medicine. They discuss developing a regional public health response system for disasters, as well as Shelly’s role in the 2014 Ebola education training program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She also shares how local health departments can develop a structure that incorporates clinical systems with public health.

Ian Goldstein sat down with Director for the Deputy Director for Public Health Service and Implementation Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Stephen Redd. They discussed the threat of a global pandemic and the ability of the US to respond to an outbreak. They also discussed climate change and how communities can better prepare for natural and manmade disasters. 

Ian Goldstein sat down with Public Health Director for Kentucky River District Health Department Scott Lockard. They discuss the implementation of the department’s needle exchange program and how other health departments can replicate positive health outcomes. They also discuss the challenges and community buy-in for the project. 

Ian Goldstein sat down with Public Health Director for Bell County, KY Teresa Hunter. The discussed overprescribing rates in Bell County and how that contributed to the opioid epidemic. They discussed activities the county health department has done with support of NACCHO to curb the opioid epidemic.  

Ian Goldstein sat down with Chief of the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness for Harris County Public Health Jennifer Kiger. They discussed the lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey and the value of storytelling when it comes to emergency preparedness. They also discussed the chemical plant fire in eastern Harris County that happened in March.  

Ian Goldstein sat down with a panel of local health professionals from the Cabell-Huntington Health Department in West Virginia. They discussed the health department efforts to control a Hepatitis A outbreak, and how the opioid epidemic has affected those efforts. The panel also discussed the need for community partnerships to manage the outbreak response.

Ian Goldstein sat down with the Deputy Director for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute Jeff Schlegelmilch. They discussed understanding the nation’s readiness to prepare for and respond to disasters, with a focus on children. They discussed data collection of past hurricanes and the gulf oil spill, looking at long-term impacts, particularly in children and their adverse childhood experiences.  

Ian Goldstein sat down with Hospital Preparedness Coordinator for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness Amanda Hunter. They discussed Hepatitis A outbreaks in the Louisville area and the role of the hospital preparedness coordinator. They also discuss the role of the hospital preparedness coordinator in a mass casualty event.

Ian Goldstein sat down with Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Broward County Health Department Terri Sudden. Sudden talks about her health departments response to two mass shootings; one at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, and the mass shooting that took place at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.  

Ian Goldstein sat down with the Executive Director of Healthcare Ready Dr. Nicolette Louissaint. They discussed how the Healthcare Ready project came about and how local health departments can utilize private partnerships in their preparedness activities. They also discussed steps in making governments and healthcare providers response ready. 

Ian Goldstein sat down with Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) Director of Government Relations Dara Lieberman. They discussed TFAH’s report “Ready or Not,” and how the report has been received. They also discussed the importance of advocacy for public health at the federal level and strategies to help public health workers tell their stories to bring attention to their work and advocate for increased public health funding. 

Ian Goldstein sat down with Director of Evaluation for NACCHO Dr. Debra Dekker. They discuss the 2018 Forces of Change Survey that reports on the challenges facing local health departments. They are joined via telephone by Claude Alix-Jacob, Chief Public Health Officer of Cambridge Public Health Department who shares his story about using Forces of Change data.

Ian Goldstein sat down with CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation Brian Castrucci and CEO and President for Trust for America’s Health John Auerbach to discuss their Health Affairs blog article surrounding the social determinants of health. The two CEOs discussed evidence-based policy solutions to tackle social inequities in communities.