Our day began at the O’Neill building with a discussion about One Health, zoonotic diseases, veterinary roles in public health, and international health collaboration. The speakers were Joseph Annelli, DVM, MS, Director, One Health Coordination Center; Senior Advisor for Agriculture and Health Systems, Office of the Associate Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and Lieutenant Cody Thornton, MPH, MBA, International Health Regulations Program Manager, Division of International Health Security. Two veterinary student externs, Sam and Meghan, joined us for the entire day. Dr. Annelli described his career path from his electronics interest in high school to his biology teaching experience, his masters research, his completion of veterinary school, his small animal practice, to his USDA food safety inspection job and to his current USDA position. Within his description, Dr. Annelli shared fascinating stories about his involvement with the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, his research with pseudorabies in swine, and his involvement with the Ebola outbreak. LT Thornton expanded upon the infectious disease issue among countries by using examples about Ebola, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), and exotic pet trade. LT Thornton explained how health is global and how international assistance for disease outbreaks have the potential to solve more local issues than solely the problem disease. Perhaps one of his lasting remarks was delineating the important difference between parietal presence and peer presence in underdeveloped countries, where peer presence forms greater collaborative efforts between host countries and assisting countries. Overall, the discussion highlighted the importance of One Health, which involves interdisciplinary collaboration to improve human health, animal health, and environmental health.
Pictured left to right: Saili Samoa, Piyush Puri, Erin Beasley, Meghan Erickson, Dr. Annelli, Michelle Park, LT Thornton, Evette Mumford, Sam Grossberg, LT Hager
The next speaker was Cheryl Levine, PhD, At-Risk Team Lead, Division for At Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health and Community Resilience (ABC), Office of Policy and Planning. Dr. Levine first presented about two different types of needs: access and function. She then explained the CMIST framework (communication, maintaining health, independence, services and support, and transportation). By utilizing the CMIST framework and identifying access and functional needs populations through three phases, at-risk populations can be better served. An example of a tool to reach this integration is a fact sheet. A situational example presented was improving service to pregnant women during disaster and public health emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
We traveled quickly via Metro to the NACCHO headquarters building. NACCHO (National Association of County and City Health Officials) represents and supports the local health departments. We met Tahlia Gousse, MPH, CHES, Senior Program Analyst, NACCHO and three NACCHO interns. Ms. Gousse is also a HOSA alumna from Florida. She discussed the role of NACCHO with local health departments and her career pathway. The interns also shared their background experience and their involvement in their respective internships. We learned that NACCHO partners with the MRC, and we also viewed some GIS work by one of the interns. After our brief visit, we traveled on the Metro to the Humphrey building.
Pictured above is our meeting with NACCHO.
After security check at the Humphrey building, we met Edward Gabriel, MPA, EMT-P, CEM, CBCP, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. Mr. Gabriel gave us a tour of his office, which included showing his Disney pins and nametags from his previous job at Disney. We then met with Mr. Gabriel along with Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), RADM, US Public Health Service. Since our Public Health Leadership Seminar is partnered with the office of the ASPR, it was a great honor to meet Dr. Lurie and Mr. Gabriel. At the recent HOSA National Leadership Conference, Mr. Gabriel presented our plaques for the seminar program and also delivered a speech at the Opening General Session. At our meeting with Dr. Lurie and Mr. Gabriel, we first introduced ourselves and then discussed how the office of the ASPR can partner with HOSA for mutual benefits. We were excited about the potential opportunities with our partnership.
Pictured left to right: ENS Andre, Mr. Gabriel, Evette, Dr. Lurie, Saili, Michelle, Erin, Piyush, Sam, Meghan, LT Hager
After taking pictures with Dr. Lurie and Mr. Gabriel, we ate lunch at the building’s cafeteria. We then walked back to the O’Neill building to listen to insights on government innovation and acquisition by Richard Hatchett, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Strategic Sciences, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Javier Lopez, MSA, Deputy Director for Management Assurance, Office of Financial Planning and Analysis. Dr. Hatchett and Mr. Lopez described their career pathways and also discussed the process of product research and development. Dr. Hatchett explained how testing and regulation interplays with the function and safety of the medical product. For example, drug development involves phases of research and trials before acceptance into the market. Both speakers emphasized the importance of economic influence on medical innovation. Also, Dr. Hatchett discussed the engineering and science integration needed for medical innovation. Mr. Lopez stressed the importance of financial planning in medical product development and briefly described funding pathways. Overall, the collaboration between different organizations and various professionals is required for medical innovations to reach the market.
Our last speaker of the day was Deb Nichols, MD, MPH, Public Health Advisor, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). Dr. Nichols described her career pathway, which included her experiences as a geriatrician. She also presented the Healthy People 2020 framework for improving health by the year 2020. Healthy People 2020 consists of a consortium of over 2,900 organizations. There are 1,200 objectives/measures for Healthy People 2020 with 42 topic areas, which includes achieving health equity. Dr. Nichols also discussed the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and explained the collaboration of agencies, which included a federal interagency workgroup, required for Healthy People 2020. Additionally, there is a Spotlight on Health webinar series on the Healthy People website. Dr. Nichols also stressed the importance of minority health and the need for disparities data.
Pictured left to right: Michelle, Evette, Meghan, Erin, Dr. Nichols, Piyush, Sam, Saili, ENS Andre
Following the last presentation, CAPT Tosatto gave us MRC coins, which is a tradition. We greatly appreciated his support during this week and his guidance for our project. At the end of the day, we ate dinner at Potbelly’s and discussed our project plan. We continued to work on different sections of our project. The day was full of interesting speakers, and their presentations inspired us to fulfill our project’s goals.
Above: Piyush and Michelle received MRC coins from CAPT Tosatto.
Pictured left to right: CAPT Denis, Piyush, Erin, Michelle, CAPT Tosatto, Saili, Evette, ENS Andre
Pictured left to right: LT Hager, Piyush, Erin, Michelle, CAPT Tosatto, Saili, Evette, ENS Andre
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