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Resources
Recorded Aug. 23, 2018
Deaths from infectious diseases steadily declined in the U.S. between 1980 and 2014, but not everywhere. There were large differences between some states, where rates either didn’t decline or rose for certain diseases. The disparities were especially apparent in regions hard hit by the opioid epidemic and in communities that are less economically prosperous. Two public health leaders who are working on the front-lines of the opioid crisis will talk about how they are working to address the impact of social determinants on infectious disease death rates and will provide reporters with ideas on where to find stories in their community.
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Jay Butler, M.D., chief medical officer & public health director, Alaska Department of Health and Human Services
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Jonathan Mermin, M.D., director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Moderator: Bara Vaida, AHCJ core topic leader/infectious diseases
Jay Butler, M.D., was appointed chief medical officer for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and director of the Division of Public Health by Governor Bill Walker in December 2014. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Medical School, has completed clinical trainings at Vanderbilt and Emory Universities, and maintains clinical board certifications in infectious diseases, internal medicine, and pediatrics. From 2010 to 2014, Butler was senior director for community health services at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, where he was also a clinical infectious diseases consultant and medical director for infection control and employee health. Earlier work includes serving as chief medical officer of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services from 2007-09, Alaska state epidemiologist, 2005- 07, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Arctic Investigations Program, 1998-2005, and medical epidemiologist in CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, 1991-98.
Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., is the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), and a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service. He oversees the nation’s efforts to prevent HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis. From 2009-13, Mermin directed CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, overseeing the agency’s HIV efforts in the United States. He previously served as director of CDC-Kenya and HHS public health attaché for the U.S. Embassy from 2006-09, and as director of CDC-Uganda from 1999-2006. In Uganda, he oversaw implementation of the first antiretroviral treatment program funded by CDC outside of the United States, gaining practical experience for PEPFAR and supporting widespread HIV treatment efforts in developing countries. Mermin began his career at CDC in 1995 as an EIS officer with the Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch.
