State of H.O.P.E.: Closing the Gap on Health Emergencies: Responses to COVID-19
In the midst of the COVID-19
pandemic, Hofstra University has continued to host a series of events and
lectures virtually for National Public Health Week. On Wednesday, April 15th, over
100 participants joined the virtual event, “The State of H.O.P.E.
(Healthcare Opportunities and Policy Exchange) presents: Closing the Gap on
Health Emergencies.” The discussion was facilitated
by State Senator Kemp Hannon, who is the Health Policy fellow in the
School of Health Professions and Human Services at Hofstra University. The
event featured expert speakers in the public health and medical
fields addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency and the
pressing issues associated with the crisis.
Dr. Anthony Santella, an
Associate Professor of Public Health at Hofstra University, spoke about the
public health methods and strategies applied in the past pandemics such as the
Flu of 1918 and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The public health response has involved
testing and contact tracing as key interventions. However, the scarcity of
financial and human resources has made this a challenge with COVID-19.
Therefore, this has led public health experts and government officials to
recommend isolation and social distancing measures to limit the spread of the
disease. (An image of key public health strategies presented by Dr. Santella is
seen below).
Dr.
Santella addressed the racial and ethnic disparities that are
associated with COVID-19, particularly for African American and Hispanic populations who
are facing lack of access to healthcare that is resulting in inequitable
health. Furthermore, Dr. Santella highlighted the constant uptick in xenophobic
and racist acts that have been evident throughout the crisis.
Dr. Jacqueline Moline,
an Occupational Medicine specialist and Professor of
Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention and Internal Medicine at
Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine spoke further about the health
disparities. Dr. Moline explained that the rates of the disease are higher in
the African American and Latino populations, in part due to the fact
that people in these racial and ethnic groups are more likely
to have jobs that are considered essential functions and therefore are at
risk of greater exposure to the virus.
Dr. Joshua Moskovitz, an
Emergency Physician and the Associate Director of Operations at Jacobi Medical
Center’s Emergency Department in the Bronx explained the challenges of being on
the front lines of figuring out how to handle the novel problem of COVID-19. It
is a disease that healthcare providers have not encountered before, Dr.
Moskovitz recounted how the emergency department has become very crowded, and
patients are being treated in hallway spaces to manage the volume of patients.
Additionally, the hospital set up tents outside of the emergency department to
limit the number of infections and decide who needs to be assessed immediately
(Seen in the photos below). He explained that there were upwards of 75 patients
a day being treated in the tent with a wide-range of symptoms that make it challenging to identify and
treat those infected. The challenge was that the providers were learning the
patterns of disease occurrence, management and progression at the same
time.
The panelists concluded that
everyone has a connection to COVID-19 and it is important to follow public
health guidance to protect yourself and others, and to keep in mind that we
will get through this challenge together and become a more empathetic
community.
More than ever we hope that public
health gets a relevant seat at the table with all the disease control and
management stakeholders.
Dara Gleeson, Senior, Community
Health Program
Isma H.
Chaudhry, MD., MPH.
Executive
in Residence
Graduate
Public Health Programs
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