Fixing Our Fault Lines: Addressing Systemic Vulnerabilities
August 25-27, 2020
How to Join: Contact Andrea Grenadier (AGrenadier@naccho.org) ) to receive an access code allowing you to view the sessions.
Nearly 1,500 professionals will meet virtually at the first and longest running national conference on public health preparedness. Since its beginning in 2006, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has taken a leadership role in convening a wide array of partners to participate in the Summit; presenting new research findings, sharing tools and resources, and providing a variety of opportunities for attendees to learn how to implement model practices that enhance the nation’s capabilities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and other emergencies. Over the last decade, the nature of threats to our national health security have changed significantly. These threats to continue to evolve and it is imperative that public health practices adapt to meet the demands of an ever-evolving threat environment.
Each year, the Preparedness Summit features experts from the healthcare and emergency management fields in addition to public health preparedness professionals to address the gaps between these life-saving industries in an effort to work more collaboratively and efficiently in the face of emerging threats.
This year’s theme: Fixing Our Fault Lines: Addressing Systemic Vulnerabilities, will focus on methods to identify systemic weaknesses and highlight tools and policies that can empower all communities, and particularly the ones that are most vulnerable, to address those weaknesses and become more resilient. By bringing hindsight to the table to assess how preparedness and response efforts have fallen short in the past, we can create collective foresight that allows us to anticipate, address, and stabilize current fault lines to prevent them from shattering communities.
The virtual summit will include a wide range of pre-recorded sessions, interactive townhalls, and live content. Find the full schedule of events here. Highlights include:
Tuesday Plenary: COVID-19 Response Briefing: Perspectives from the Field – Where Do We Go from Here?
Date: Tuesday, August 25
Time: 2:30 pm ET
With more than 4 million cases and nearly 150,000 deaths, COVID-19 has been the worst pandemic in U.S. history since the 1918 Spanish Flu. In the months since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the pandemic a public health emergency, the public health, healthcare and emergency management sectors have worked tirelessly on the front lines to mitigate transmission, deliver care to sick patients, educate communities, and plan for mass vaccination – all within a highly politicized landscape. There is much to be learned from this first phase of response as we continue the effort to slow the spread. In this session, representatives from the Federal, State, Local and Laboratory communities will brief attendees and share their experiences with the pandemic response.
Speakers include:
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Dr. John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Director, Centers for Preparedness & Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Dr. Cathy Slemp, MD, MPH, Former Health Officer & Commissioner, West Virginia Bureau for Public Health
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Bill Whitmar, MS, Laboratory Director, Missouri State Public Health Laboratory
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Dr. Sherri L. Davidson, PhD, MPH, Interim State Epidemiologist, Alabama Department of Public Health
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Jennifer Kertanis, MPH, Director – Farmington Valley Health District, President – NACCHO
Wednesday Plenary: Finding HOPE through Crisis: Managing Stress and Supporting Optimism
Date: Wednesday, August 26
Time: 3:00 pm ET
This session introduces HOPE, redefined as Honesty, Optimism, Professionalism, and Empathy. Each of these concepts can be applied and leveraged to help public health, healthcare, and emergency professionals navigate through sustained operational stress and stay resilient. Participants will learn strategies to harness stress in moments for performance, learn approaches to cultivate optimistic thinking and gratitude, and foster stronger connections with others to support general well-being as well as holistic performance.
Speakers include:
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Robert Kadlec, MD, Assistant Secretary, Preparedness and Response, US Department of Health and Human Services
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Dr. Gloria Park, PhD, MAPP, Director of Performance Psychology, Consortium for Health and Military Performance
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Dr. Gabe Paoletti, EdD, MAPP, Mental Fitness Scientist, Consortium for Health and Military Performance
Thursday Plenary: Addressing Structural Racism in the Era of COVID-19: Past, Present, and Future
Date: Thursday, August 27
Time: 1:00 pm ET
Structural racism exists within every system in the U.S., creating barriers—from community disinvestment by government to unequal allocation of relief and recovery resources—to preparedness, response and resilience for Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities. To confront this, emergency and public health managers must understand the roots of inequity and the intersections between health equity, racial justice, public health, and emergency response. This session will contextualize the history of racism in emergency response, provide examples of how communities are currently incorporating racial equity principles into current plans to address COVID-19, and examine how communities can center equity and justice when defining preparedness and response strategies for the future.
Speakers include:
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Mariel Torres Mehdipour, Emergency Response Equity Officer, Public Health — Seattle & King County
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John Yates, MBA, Director of Racial Equity & Social Justice, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
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Este Geraghty, MD, MS, MPH, CPH, FACP, GISP, Chief Medical Officer and Health Solutions, Director, Esri