Health organizations across the country face shrinking budgets. Federal agencies responsible for emergency preparedness are being restructured and consolidated. It’s hard enough just to keep track of the fusillade of changes, let alone respond to them. But paralysis is not an option for local leaders; the health of millions of Americans depends on how cities and counties prepare for and respond to the next health crisis. The challenge is steep. Between 2017 and 2021, nearly half of all employees in local and state health departments left their positions. This workforce crisis predates the recent political turbulence — and leaves communities more vulnerable at a time when robust health infrastructure is needed most. Yet within this challenge is an opportunity to plant a new vision — one that embraces an “always on” approach to emergency preparedness, by making readiness part of our everyday work. This vision rests on three essential pillars: hyperlocal community engagement; partnerships as an antidote to scarcity; and actionable data to drive strategy. Read more in my essay in Healthbeat News— https://lnkd.in/e72uiTM9 Common Health Coalition
How to Prepare for Health Crises Amid Budget Cuts and Workforce Crisis
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Dr. Chokshi's latest piece hits on something we know deep in our organizing work: "The real battle is not over facts, but over trust." His call for hyperlocal, neighborhood-by-neighborhood approaches mirrors what effective community organizing has always understood: lasting change happens when we meet people where they are, in the communities they call home. It does not stop with the individual and the neighborhood, however; the essay goes on to about the role of CHWs, strategic partnerships, and data to create systemic change. As federal support wavers and public health communication faces crisis, this reinforces why community engagement remains essential.
Health organizations across the country face shrinking budgets. Federal agencies responsible for emergency preparedness are being restructured and consolidated. It’s hard enough just to keep track of the fusillade of changes, let alone respond to them. But paralysis is not an option for local leaders; the health of millions of Americans depends on how cities and counties prepare for and respond to the next health crisis. The challenge is steep. Between 2017 and 2021, nearly half of all employees in local and state health departments left their positions. This workforce crisis predates the recent political turbulence — and leaves communities more vulnerable at a time when robust health infrastructure is needed most. Yet within this challenge is an opportunity to plant a new vision — one that embraces an “always on” approach to emergency preparedness, by making readiness part of our everyday work. This vision rests on three essential pillars: hyperlocal community engagement; partnerships as an antidote to scarcity; and actionable data to drive strategy. Read more in my essay in Healthbeat News— https://lnkd.in/e72uiTM9 Common Health Coalition
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🚨 Workforce cuts, reorganizations, and reduced funding at federal public health agencies will weaken the nation's public health infrastructure and state and local health departments' capacity to serve their communities, Trust for America's Health's new annual report shows. Read the report for a deep dive into the consequences of these policies and recommendations to protect national health and economic security. https://lnkd.in/e6-ji7Au
What are the impacts on public health when federal funding is slashed to unprecedented lows? TFAH’s new report, Public Health Infrastructure in Crisis – HHS Workforce Cuts, Reorganizations, and Funding Reductions: Impacts and Solutions provides a comprehensive look at the recent and proposed reductions, reorganizations, and consolidations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its divisions. The report surfaces the serious consequences associated with the current and proposed changes – they put communities’ and the nation’s health and economic security at risk. The report includes sobering accounts of the impacts such actions will have on state and local health programs including on localized efforts to address chronic illness, substance misuse, mental illness, water quality and other environmental threats. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/e6-ji7Au
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Addiction Medicine specialist | Community Medicine physician | Tropical & Public Health consultant | Health Professions educator | Clinical & Public Health researcher | Innovator/Solution-provider | Subject-matter expert
As often said in public health circles, a widely used public health principle reminds us that effective public health is often unrecognized and its greatest victories often go unnoticed — measured not by what happens, but by what is successfully prevented. In public health — prevention is often invisible, and its successes are measured by the absence of crisis. “When public health does its best job, nothing happens.” The absence of catastrophe is the hallmark of a resilient system, as its greatest successes are measured by crises averted and illnesses that never occurred. “Success in public health typically means something bad didn’t happen.” When outbreaks are averted and lives are quietly saved, it rarely makes the headlines. "No one notices when people don’t die of a preventable disease, or when an outbreak is stopped before it becomes a major news story. Success in public health typically means something bad didn't happen." — Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, former Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Good public health is invisible… when things go well, people barely notice…” — Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. But that silence? That’s the sound of success. In public health, no breaking news when people don’t die of preventable diseases, or when outbreaks are stopped before they start. This emphasizes the invisible nature of prevention — that effective public health is rarely headline news because its success is measured by what didn’t occur: outbreaks avoided, deaths prevented and crises averted.
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Connecting for Better Health / East Bay Times / Daniel J. Chavez / Serving Communities HIO -- This thesis bolsters the argument that we are about to enter a "GOLDEN AGE OF AMBULANCES." When "devastating health cuts" arrive....do you think the result will be fewer 911 calls, or more of them? I first dared to say this out loud during the recent Arkansas Hospital Association Leadership Conference, but the combination of employment numbers and ambulance call volumes are bearing out the correlation: When more people lose their jobs, and therefore their insurance, who do you think gets the calls when people are sick and either don't want to pay for a doctor, or don't think they can afford one, or they waited too long in the interest of trying to avoid the cost, and now their health (and prognosis) are substantially worse? That last part warrants further elaboration: The notion that WOMEN'S HEALTH has a role to play in #PostCrashCare frankly surprised me, until I looked at the data. It is definitely not gaining enough attention. We need to talk about it more. After all, the American Heart Association has been publishing about this for nearly 10 YEARS. Circulation Journal / Lisa Suennen , Tracy Warren, Kate Elkins, Joni Harvey, Jane Terry this is a thing, and we should talk about fixing it. (H/T Mary Norine Walsh, MD and Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH) -- "Delays in Seeking Care: A Women’s Problem?" Read it: https://lnkd.in/gvU5jSnu ___________________
California has ambitious goals to make health care more effective, efficient, and affordable. But there’s a hard truth: none of these goals are achievable without a clear, coordinated path for sharing necessary patient information across health and social care systems. Thank you Daniel J. Chavez and Aneeka Chaudhry for your leadership in detailing what Californians need now: https://lnkd.in/gMwM-4-S
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"If we are serious about creating a health system that is preventative, personalised and place-based, then community health services must move from the margins to the mainstream." In a piece for Healthcare Management, Laura Churchill, Chief Strategy Officer at CLCH, sets out why community services are the essential foundation of a health system that is fit for the future: https://lnkd.in/ecHFXAY4
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What will it really take to make the shift from hospital to community? Our Chief Strategy Officer Laura Churchill shares her thoughts in this piece for Healthcare Management 👇
"If we are serious about creating a health system that is preventative, personalised and place-based, then community health services must move from the margins to the mainstream." In a piece for Healthcare Management, Laura Churchill, Chief Strategy Officer at CLCH, sets out why community services are the essential foundation of a health system that is fit for the future: https://lnkd.in/ecHFXAY4
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We have a close relationship with Public Health Scotland and have collaborated with them on multiple important initiatives. Commenting on the partnership, Ruth Glassborow, Director of Population Health and Wellbeing Public Health Scotland, said: “Public Health Scotland values its strong and collaborative relationship with the Improvement Service. Since its inception in 2020, PHS has worked with the Improvement Service on a number of joint initiatives including Shaping Places for Wellbeing. “The Improvement Service brings deep expertise in local government and place-based approaches, which has been instrumental in advancing our shared goals around health equity, climate resilience, and community empowerment. “They are always generous in bringing their knowledge, skills and relationships to the table and this, combined with their values based approach, enables strong collaborative working on areas of common interest.” Visit our website to read even more https://lnkd.in/dM84mkW3 Stay tuned for more stories from our partners. #20yearstogether
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The Irish health system has demonstrated remarkable resilience amidst a succession of crises, including economic austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic, cyberattacks, and ongoing cost-of-living challenges. This comprehensive research highlights how these events have left enduring legacies—both strengths and vulnerabilities—that shape system performance today. Key findings reveal the complex interplay between crisis-driven reforms and systemic challenges such as staff demotivation, turnover, and extended waiting times. Notably, progress towards universal healthcare access and strengthened community-based services signals important advancements. The democratization of decision-making, supported by increased capacity-building funds, further underscores the system’s adaptive capacity. Understanding these cumulative impacts offers valuable lessons for policymakers aiming to enhance health system resilience worldwide. Crises can either magnify existing issues or catalyze reform, fundamentally influencing the future of healthcare delivery. The Irish experience serves as a crucial case study for health systems globally striving to build robustness in the face of adversity. 🏥🌍💡 #CommunityHealth #CrisisManagement #HealthSystemStrength #HealthcareLeadership #HealthcarePolicyandRegulation #HealthcareResilience #PolicyInnovation #Publications #RegulatoryAgencies #UniversalHealthcare #MarketAccess #MarketAccessToday
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Community health workers, promotores, and representatives (CHW/P/Rs) are on the frontlines of care in California. They help families navigate benefits, manage medications and connect with trusted health resources. In a recent interview with the Community Health Care Foundation, TCP President Mayra E Alvarez shared how CHW/P/Rs bridge gaps for historically underserved communities and why integrating them into care delivery systems, including through Medi-Cal, is key to advancing equitable health. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eVQeQDcB
Chief Executive Officer at Ramapo for Children
1wNicely written and encouraging to see you uplift so many of the challenges and specific examples of solutions and approaches that work. This quote…”The real battle is not over facts, but over trust.” continues to deeply resonate. Thanks Dave!