Day 2 of the Public Health Leadership Seminar!

Greetings HOSA Members!

After an exciting introductory day yesterday, day two was filled with informal meetings and project development opportunities. There are so many unique branches of public health, and we were fortunate enough to explore a few today.

First, we met with Dr. Hatchett from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Along with focusing on the economics of drug development, BARDA has three main areas of concentration: biodefense, flu preparedness and emerging infectious diseases. Following the wrong vaccine being given during the 2014-2015 flu season, BARDA has been working to create modern vaccine techniques. Not only does BARDA work within the United States, but it also monitors the health of other countries. Currently, BARDA is watching over Asia in regards to the H5N1 virus. To learn more about the medical innovations within BARDA click here!

Next, Jonathan Ban from the National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) component of ASPR showed us the connection between healthcare and emergency management. From recent U.S. disasters such as the Texas Flood and the Northeast Polar Vortex to more common emergencies such as choking and car accidents, resilience is an important quality that public health professionals need to utilize during difficult situations. Jonathan Ban made us realize that everyone has a talent that can be useful during disasters, even if it as simple as being able to play an instrument. If you think you have what it takes to be resilient during disasters, check out the upcoming video contest sponsored by the NHSS here!

PHLS Participants and ENS Andre with Jonathan Ban (NHSS)

Break time (sort of!). The PHLS participants engaged in a team building exercise called the Space Survival Exercise. Participants were given a situation located in space and were asked to rank the given items according to their importance. These items would aid the participants to the mothership. Although we only matched six out of the fifteen items according to the expert rankings, this exercise is great to use at any HOSA conference! Templates for the Survival Team Exercise can be found here.

Subsequently, Mr. Gabriel, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response stopped by the O'Neill Building. He opened our eyes to the link between public and private sectors in public health after he shared his work experience with Disney. Additionally, he discussed the diversity of healthcare. For instance, almost 99% of firefighters are Caucasian males, while the Emergency Medical Services is the most diverse healthcare group. Soon after, we traveled to the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) Headquarters by Metro for the first time!

PHLS Participants with Mr. Gabriel

NACCHO is the national connection for local public health. From environmental health initiatives to NACCHO's HIV and STI Prevention Program, NACCHO provides much of the funding and guidance for over 2,800 local health departments in the United States. We also learned about the Health Equity and Social Justice Program, which has several published resources such as the documentary film series Unnatural Cases: Is Inequality Making us Sick? to diminish health inequity. Moreover, NACCHO provides a variety of internships such as the Local Public Health Scholars Program and rotating internships hosted by the Environmental Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and Catastrophic Response Team. Click me for more information on NACCHO internships. Also, don't forget to sign up for NACCHO's newsletters to inform your local health department on current healthcare happenings here!

PHLS Participants at NACCHO HQ

Lunch time! We stopped by Farragut Square and savored many of the food trucks offered in D.C.

Enjoying the food trucks!

Following lunch, we had the opportunity to listen in on a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Well-check Webinar. The webinar informed us on the partnership between the MRC and NHSS. Moreover, we were able to learn how to organize, assemble and deploy volunteers for a MRC unit. Also, advice was given on how to plan, schedule and conduct MRC unit activities.To start your own MRC unit, read this.

Finally, it was time to further develop our project. After a few hours of discussing and planning, all of the PHLS participants began to thoroughly outline their designated parts of the project. We are more than eager to showcase our innovative ideas to HOSA later this week!

Until next time!
Sneha Rangu, New Jersey