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In the final episode of Keeping Up with Public Health: Pandemic Response (Season 2), Dr. Joe Gerald, Dr. Kristen Pogreba-Brown, and Dr. Kate Ellingson look back on the public health response to COVID-19, discuss the challenges that were faced and what was learned from them.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss challenges in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and what was learned

• Describe the importance of testing, what was missed, and what types of testing are becoming available

• Discuss missteps with face mask messaging and the current importance of wearing face masks

Continuing Education Information: 0.5 CECH for CHES

Duration: 41 min.

Provider number: 99036

Date Released: 9/2020

In this episode, join Agnes Attakai, Sheila Soto, and Dr. Paloma Beamer in a conversation about health disparities and the potential lasting impacts of COVID-19 on Native American communities and Latin American migrant populations.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Native American communities and Latin American migrant populations
• Discuss lasting impacts these communities may face moving forward through the rest of the pandemic and beyond

Continuing Education Information: 0.5 CECH for CHES

Duration: 35 min.

Provider number: 99036

Date Released: 9/2020

The Arizona Surge Line is a 24/7 toll-free call line that expedites the transfers of patients with COVID-19 across the state of Arizona, load-leveling, and protecting hospitals. The Arizona Surge Line was created and protocolized by the collaboration between Chief Medical Officers and Hospital Transfer Centers across the state and continues to shift and expand over time. The first strategy focused on transfers to higher levels of care and later expanded to lower levels of care to increase the availability of hospital beds. There are now real-time clinical consultations offered, backup transportation provided, a dashboard of all available beds in post-acute care facilities offered, and a novel surge staffing initiative is currently being implemented. The Arizona Surge Line has been referenced extensively in the press by the hospitals themselves and has been partially credited for the sheer amount of collaboration between systems, counties, county, and federal facilities. 

Learning Objectives:

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration:  ~ 25 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Lisa Villarroel, MD, MPH

Dr. Lisa Villarroel serves as the Medical Director for the Division of Public Health Preparedness at the Arizona Department of Health Services. She received her Bachelors in Biology at Princeton University and her Doctor of Medicine at Northwestern University before getting her Master’s in Public Health and becoming board certified in Family Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. At the Department, she has served as the Medical Director for the Arizona emergency response to Ebola, Zika, Opioid and COVID-19 Crises. She was a lead for the Arizona Opioid Prescribing Guidelines(2018), the Arizona Pain and Addiction Curriculum(2018), the Arizona Surge Line, and the Arizona Surge Staffing Initiative. In addition to her work at the health department, she is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and a practicing locum tenens.

This presentation will provide insights on the need for the continual evolution of public health practices in light of COVID-19 and the current social movements that highlight how social determinants effect health disparities.  A focus on what trainings are needed to strengthen the current and future public health workforce will be discussed to respond to the necessity that public health services must be redefined and redesigned.  Examples of current and novel steps that are starting to be taken by health departments and public health education programs to meet this challenge will be presented.  We will conclude our presentation by proposing what new knowledge and skills are needed by the public health workforce so our current communal approach to infectious disease prevention can be leveraged to reduce a variety of health disparities including maternal and child health, and chronic disease outcomes. 

Learning Objectives

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration:  ~ 35 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenters: Douglas Taren, Ph.D., MS; and Betty Bekemeier, Ph.D., MPH, RN, FAAN

Douglas Taren is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. He has more than 30 years of experience conducting research and training students in international health. His research and teaching activities have included projects in Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, China, Nepal, Kenya, Senegal, and the US Associated Pacific Islands, and more.Dr. Taren currently directs the Western Region Public Health Training Center (WRPHTC)for HRSA Region 9 (Arizona, Nevada, California, Hawaii, and the US Affiliated Pacific Islands). The WRPHTC works to strengthen the public health workforce through interactive, skill-based training.

Betty Bekemeier is a professor at the University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing and Director of the UW School of Public Health’s Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. She is a distinguished public health systems researcher focused on improving the effectiveness of our prevention systems and related workforce. She has led numerous studies regarding local health department services and their impact on health outcomes and equity. She emphasizes the inclusion of rural public health jurisdictions to generate evidence that will improve the reach and distribution of services to underserved communities and meet the needs of the rural workforce. Dr. Bekemeier is also PI of the Public Health Activities and Services Tracking (PHAST) Study, initiated in 2010 through the RWJF. PHAST is a highly regarded, growing database of uniquely detailed and linked data regarding LHD services and financing, including the PHAST Uniform Chart of Accounts which is helping local health departments have better access to meaningful financial data for decision-making. Dr. Bekemeier’s projects and studies are carried out in close partnership with public health practice leaders and have been immediately relevant to addressing current policy issues. She has also held many leadership positions, including those in the Washington State Public Health Association, the American Public Health Association, NACCHO’s Profile Workgroup.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health professionals across the U.S. and globally have used video conference technology to exchange vital information, build knowledge, provide peer support, and work collaboratively. As we transition into recovery, we have an opportunity to leverage these shifts in the way public health professionals work and learn together to create more permanent systems for connecting professionals and developing workforce capacity. In this session, we will explore two learning/capacity building models that are based in human connection, mutual interest, and adult learning theory that build long-lasting public health capacity. Specifically, we will focus on communities of practice (aka learning communities, learning collaboratives, peer networks, etc.) and Project ECHO. ®  

Learning Objectives

The future of the public health field is uncertain, and that will continue to be true. Workforce development will play a critical role in preparing in an uncertain and constantly evolving environment. Cuts to budget health and turnover are likely to continue. It’s more important than ever that staff have strategic skills, many of which were identified several years ago by the National Consortium for Workforce Development. In particular, skills in change management and persuasive communication have grown in importance. The de Beaumont Foundation is partnering with other public health leaders and practitioners to develop several tools to equip the workforce, including a project to identify the appropriate ratio of public health staff for communities and new tools for effective communication with community partners the public. Health agencies should carefully consider how they’re using their training dollars to ensure that they are building resilient and sustainable skills.

Learning Objectives

• Gain insights about the current and future needs of the public health workforce.
• Learn which strategic skills are particularly valuable in an environment where change is the norm.
• Get access to practical tools that can help build skills.

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration:  ~ 30 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Brian Castrucci

Brian Castrucci is a disruptor, instigator, and fierce advocate for public health. Inside Philanthropy once described him as a “fount of knowledge and passion when it comes to health” who speaks with “sound-bite-perfect urgency” on the social determinants of health. Over the past eight years, Brian has helped build the de Beaumont Foundation into a national powerhouse in public health philanthropy and advocacy. He now serves as the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer. An award-winning epidemiologist with 10 years of experience in state and local health departments, Brian brings a unique background that allows him to shape and implement visionary and practical initiatives and partnerships that bring together research and practice to improve public health. Under his leadership, the de Beaumont Foundation is driving change to improve population health, foster collaboration between public health and other sectors, and strengthen the nation’s public health infrastructure. CityHealth, the BUILD Health Challenge, and the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey are among the national projects he has helped create while at the Foundation.

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the delivery of healthcare. Providers and patients have experienced in a very short amount of time some of the greatest changes to the healthcare system ever seen. Those who were reluctant to embrace telehealth prior to COVID found themselves obliged to implement it often just to stay in business. The rapid utilization of telemedicine was enabled by equally rapid changes in regulations and waivers for billing. This talk will summarize where we might be going with telemedicine post-COVID, especially in the public health arena. In particular, the focus will be on how to transition from a rapidly implemented program using readily available platforms to more sustainable long-term use of telemedicine integrated in usual practice. Resources available to help with this transition will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key aspects of the status of COVID-related telehealth regulations and waivers.
• Appreciate the broader role of mHealth, apps, sensors, and remote monitoring post COVID.
• Learn about ways to transition the use of telehealth into traditional practice models
• Know where to look for resources and technical assistance with telemedicine questions.

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration: ~ 35 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Elizabeth A. Krupinski, PhD

Dr. Krupinski is Professor and Vice-Chair for Research at Emory University in the Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences and subject matter expert for the Emory Telehealth Program. She received her BA from Cornell, MA from Montclair State, and Ph.D. from Temple, all in Experimental Psychology. Her interests are in medical image perception, observer performance, decision making, and human factors. She is the Associate Director of Evaluation for the Arizona Telemedicine Program and co-Director of the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center. She is Past President of ATA, Past Chair of Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine, Past Chair of the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference, and President of the Medical Image Perception Society. She is Co-Editor of the Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare and on the Editorial Board of the Telemedicine & E-Health Journal.