FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paige Rohe, prohe@chronicdisease.org, 404-924-8295
ATLANTA (March 30, 2018) – The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) is launching its newest podcast series, “Health Yeah!,” led by Dr. Jean O’Connor, out-going NACDD Board President, on innovative models for population health improvement and chronic disease prevention within each community.
“While hospitals, payers, and health care providers consider a more limited definition of ‘population’ by focusing on the panel of patients they serve, we tend to view outcomes on a more geographical or societal basis,” Dr. O’Connor said. “However, our end goal of improved health is the same, and we are using many of the same techniques and approaches to improving population health to accomplish our objectives,” she said.
Dr. O’Connor’s “Health Yeah!” podcasts support the third annual NACDD President’s Challenge, which is a call to action for public officials to focus on emerging issues in chronic disease prevention and control. In 2016, Mehul Dalal, MD, MSc, MHS, Chronic Disease Director of Connecticut, led the “Learn, Lead, and Thrive” podcasts, which challenged Members to improve management practices, and support professional growth development in state health departments. The first President’s Challenge, initiated by Namvar Zohoori, MD, MPH, PhD, Director of the Center for Health Advancement at the Arkansas Department of Health, examined the importance of health equity.
“I believe that public health has championed this idea around social determinants of health which is integral to population health,” said John W. Robitscher, NACDD CEO. “How do we make sure that every person has a safe place to live, clean food, and water? How do we make sure they have transportation to and from medical attention whenever they need it? It does take a village to take care of people. Dr. O’Connor’s podcasts series is a detailed study on how the public health community as a whole can improve population health.”
All eight episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length and will be released individually on NACDD’s website, iTunes, and on SoundCloud starting March 30 to help kick off National Public Health Week (April 2-8, 2018).
- NACDD Projects that Support Population Health: Dr. O’Connor speaks with John W. Robitscher, NACDD’s CEO, on how NACDD uses consultants to work on projects that support chronic disease prevention and control. Robitscher highlights some of the projects that provide support and education, and are currently funded by NACDD and CDC. (SoundCloud, iTunes)
- Understanding Population Health Improvement: Dr. O’Connor speaks with Mary Ann Cooney, Chief of Health Systems Transformation with the