Issue Category: Public Health Preparedness

New Report Recommends Policies to Protect and Improve Americans’ Health by Transforming the Public Health System

Nation’s Public Health System Needs Sustained Attention and Investment; The Report Provides Action Plan for the Administration and Congress Taking Office in 2021

(Washington, DC – October 6, 2020) — The COVID-19 pandemic sharply illuminated weaknesses in the nation’s public health system and ways in which structural racism put communities of color at disproportionate risk of negative health outcomes, according to a new report, The Promise of Good Health for All: Transforming Public Health in America. The report was released today by Trust for America’s Health.  Among its findings is that the nation’s public health system is dangerously inadequate. The report offers a blueprint for policymakers taking office next year on how to strengthen the system, protect against health security threats, address the social determinants of health, and combat racism and other forms of discrimination that negatively affect community and individual health and resilience.

Americans are facing increasing environmental and weather-related threats from wildfires to hurricanes. Infectious disease outbreaks are a constant and complex risk as world travel allows small outbreaks to become worldwide threats in a matter of hours. Additionally, Americans have higher levels of chronic disease and mental health and substance misuse issues than ever before.  As a nation, we spend over $3 trillion annually on healthcare but lag behind other developed countries in practically every health metric. A key to addressing these threats to the nation’s health is a significant investment in the public health system, including programs rooted in prevention and working at the population health level. The report calls for an annual $4.5 billion investment in the nation’s public health infrastructure including in 21st century data systems and a robust public health workforce.

“Even before COVID-19, numerous health emergencies, including infectious disease outbreaks like measles, Zika and Ebola, the opioid epidemic, weather-related events and lung injuries due to vaping demonstrated the urgency of a strong public health system,” says John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

“Each of these emergencies brought short-term attention to the importance of the public health system, but short-term attention is not enough.  Without sustained investment the nation’s public health system we will not be ready to protect Americans’ lives and livelihoods during the next health emergency,” Auerbach said.

The conditions in which people live and work are key drivers of their health. Therefore, solutions to health risks and inequities largely exist outside the healthcare sector and reinforce the importance of investing in population health and the social determinants of health. Increasing the nation’s investment in health promotion and disease prevention will not only improve the quality of life for millions of Americans, it will help decrease the nation’s exploding healthcare spending.

The report focuses on five key priority areas:

PRIORITY 1: Make substantial and sustained investments in a more effective public health system including a highly-skilled public health workforce.

PRIORITY 2: Mobilize an all-out effort to combat racism and other forms of discrimination and to advance health equity by providing the conditions that optimize health.

PRIORITY 3: Address the social determinants of health including economic, social, and environmental factors that result in preventable illness, injuries and death.

PRIORITY 4: Proactively address threats to the nation’s health security.

PRIORITY 5: Improve health, safety, and well-being for all people by providing pathways to optimal health across the life span.


Among the report’s recommendations for federal policymakers are:

  • Strengthen and modernize the public health system by creating a $4.5 billion per year Public Health Infrastructure Fund to support foundational public health capabilities at the state, local, territorial and tribal levels.
  • Build 21st century public health surveillance systems at the federal, state and local levels to enable rapid detection and response to disease threats.
  • Create a Health Defense Operations budget designation to build sustainable funding for public health programs that prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks.
  • Make advancing health equity and eliminating health disparities a national priority with a senior-level, federal interdepartmental task force charged with adopting policies and programs in housing, employment, health, environmental justice and education that reduce health inequities and address the social determinants of health.
  • Expand grants to address health inequities and ensure funding is reaching under-resourced, marginalized, and disproportionately affected communities.
  • Prioritize increased funding for state, local, tribal and territorial public health emergency preparedness and response programs, such as CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness program and HHS’s Hospital Preparedness Program.
  • Build surge capacity across the healthcare system and develop standards for healthcare facility readiness. Policymakers should provide payment incentives and reward facilities that maintain specialized disaster care capabilities.
  • Grow the CDC’s Climate and Health Program so it can support every state, large cities, territories and tribes to be climate-ready. Clean air and water regulations should be restored and strengthened, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
  • Increase research and effective messaging to build vaccine confidence and ensure that no person faces barriers to receiving all necessary vaccinations.
  • Promote optimal health across the lifespan through access to health insurance, job-protected paid leave for workers, and significant investments in programs proven to support families and improve health – from babies to older adults.

The report is endorsed by the American Public Health Association, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, the Big Cities Health Coalition, the Public Health Institute, and the National Network of Public Health Institutes.

 

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. On Twitter at @HealthyAmerica1

U.S. Adult Obesity Rate Tops 42 Percent; Highest Ever Recorded

Having obesity is a risk factor for serious COVID consequences; pandemic could increase future levels of obesity due to increased food insecurity

(Washington, DC – September 17, 2020) – The U.S. adult obesity rate passed the 40 percent mark for the first time, standing at 42.4 percent, according to State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).  The national adult obesity rate has increased by 26 percent since 2008.

The report, based in part on newly released 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BFRSS) and analysis by TFAH, provides an annual snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity nationwide including by age, race and state of residence.

Demographic trends and the conditions in people’s lives have a large impact on their ability to maintain a healthy weight.  Generally, the data show that the more a person earns the less likely they are to have obesity.  Individuals with less education were also more likely to have obesity. Rural communities have higher rates of obesity and severe obesity than do suburban and metro areas.

Socioeconomic factors such as poverty and discrimination have contributed to higher rates of obesity among certain racial and ethnic populations.  Black adults have the highest level of adult obesity nationally at 49.6 percent; that rate is driven in large part by an adult obesity rate among Black women of 56.9 percent.  Latinx adults have an obesity rate of 44.8 percent.  The obesity rates for white adults is 42.2 percent.  Asian adults have an overall 17.4 percent obesity rate.

Obesity and its impact on health including COVID-19 risks

Obesity has serious health consequences including increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and many types of cancers. Obesity is estimated to increase healthcare spending by $149 billion annually (about half of which is paid for by Medicare and Medicaid) and being overweight or having obesity is the most common reason young adults are ineligible for military service. Concerns about the impact of obesity have taken on new dimensions this year as having obesity is one of the underlying health conditions associated with the most serious consequences of COVID infection, including hospitalization and death. These new data mean that 42 percent of all Americans are at increased risk of serious, possibly fatal, health impacts from COVID-19 due to their weight and health conditions related to obesity.

“Solving the country’s obesity crisis will require addressing the conditions in people’s lives that lead to food insecurity and create obstacles to healthy food options and safe physical activity.  Those conditions include poverty, unemployment, segregated housing and racial discrimination,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “This year’s pandemic has shown that these conditions don’t only increase the risk of obesity and chronic illnesses, they also increase the risk of the most serious COVID outcomes.”

Childhood obesity also on the rise

Rates of childhood obesity are also increasing with the latest data showing that 19.3 percent of U.S. young people, ages 2 to 19, have obesity. In the mid-1970s, 5.5 percent of young people had obesity.  Being overweight or having obesity as a young person puts them at higher risk for having obesity and its related health risks as an adult. Furthermore, children are exhibiting earlier onset of what used to be considered adult conditions, including hypertension and high cholesterol.

Twelve states have adult obesity rates above 35 percent

Obesity rates vary considerably between states and regions of the country.  Mississippi has the highest adult obesity rate in the country at 40.8 percent and Colorado has the lowest at 23.8 percent.  Twelve states have adult rates above 35 percent, they are: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.  As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate above 35 percent; in 2000 no state had an adult obesity rate above 25 percent.

Food insecurity and its relationship to obesity

The report includes a special section on food insecurity and its relationship to obesity. Food insecurity is linked to lower quality diets and tracks with higher levels of obesity in many population groups. Food insecurity is closely linked to economic conditions. There were higher levels of food insecurity during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and early data indicate a large increase in the number of American families experiencing food insecurity due to the COVID-19 crisis. According to U.S. Census Bureau survey data, 25 percent of all respondents and 30 percent of respondents with children, reported experiencing food insecurity between April and June of this year.

Solving the obesity crisis will require multi-sector initiatives and policy change

The report includes recommendations on how best to address the obesity crisis grounded in two principles: 1) the need for a multi-sector, multi-disciplinary approach, and 2) a focus on those population groups that are disproportionately impacted by the obesity crisis.

Recommendations include:

  • While the COVID-19 public health emergency continues to be in place, continue USDA nutrition policy waivers and expand no-cost school meals to all enrolled students for the entire 2020-2021 school year.
  • Increase funding to allow for the expansion of critical CDC obesity-prevention programs including the State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health program.
  • Expand benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as “food stamps”) by raising maximum benefit levels, extending Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) for students and children, doubling investments in SNAP-Ed, and finding innovative, voluntary ways to improve diet quality without harming access or benefit levels.
  • Incentivize businesses and public land use to increase access to healthy food options and safe places to be physically active.
  • Disincentivize unhealthy food choices by closing tax loopholes and eliminating business-cost deductions related to the advertising of unhealthy food and beverages to children and by enacting sugary drink taxes where tax revenue is allocated to local efforts to reduce health and socioeconomic disparities.
  • Encourage Medicaid to cover pediatric weight-management programs for all eligible beneficiaries.

 

 

Report Full Text

 

Support for the State of Obesity report series was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the view of the Foundation.

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

 

TFAH and Other Leaders Launch Public Health Communications Collaborative to Support and Advance Public Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

(Washington, DC, September 2, 2020) – The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC), launched today, will promote the value of public health to protect Americans’ health and safety as well as the nation’s economy. The collaborative will coordinate and amplify public health messaging on COVID-19 issues to increase Americans’ confidence in health guidance by communicating the best available science, by positioning public health leaders as expert spokespersons, and by quickly correcting misinformation.

“Unfortunately, misinformation and conflicting messages about COVID-19 have confused the American public at a time when clear guidance about how to protect their health is critical,” said John Auerbach, President, and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “This collaborative will share information that will advance science-based decision making during the pandemic and in doing so will help save lives.”

Founding members of the PHCC are Trust for America’s Health, the CDC Foundation, and the de Beaumont Foundation. Partner organizations are the American Public Health Association, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Big Cities Health Coalition, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, PATH, and Resolve to Save Lives.

The Public Health Communications Collaborative website will be a hub repository of information and messaging products designed to help state and local public health officials share information with their constituents and navigate the current media landscape. The site will be updated regularly with real-time messaging and resources.

To sign up for email updates from PHCC, visit the website.

TFAH Applauds the Introduction of the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 by Senator Smith (MN) and Senator Murphy (CT)

(Washington, DC – August 5, 2020) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a non-partisan, independent public health policy, research and advocacy organization, applauds Senators Tina Smith (MN) and Chris Murphy (CT) for introducing the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020. This critical bill would address the social, economic and environmental conditions that affect the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.

If enacted, the bill would create a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Program at the   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through grants, this program would improve the capacity of public health departments and community organizations to address social determinants of health and reduce health care costs by building multi-sector collaborations and addressing policies that currently inhibit good health. Grants would also be issued to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education to conduct research on SDOH best practices, provide technical, training and evaluation assistance and/or disseminate those best practices. Lastly, the program would coordinate, support and align SDOH activities at CDC.

The President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, John Auerbach, congratulates Sen. Smith and Sen. Murphy on the introduction of the bill:

“The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the continued conversations our country is having about racism and racial justice, continue to put a spotlight on the social and economic conditions that contribute to an individual’s health outcomes during their life.

We know that a community’s resources directly impact the health outcomes of its residents. Now is the time to work to address these disparities, including those in housing, employment, food security and education.

This legislation would empower public health departments and community organizations to act as chief health strategists in their communities and lead efforts to convene partners across sectors to build integrated systems and programs that improve health and health equity.

The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 is an important next step in improving health outcomes, would reduce overall healthcare spending and help address health inequities; TFAH is proud to support this bill and urges Congressional support.”

This bill is the Senate companion bill to Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 (H.R. 6561), which was introduced by Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) in April 2020.

TFAH’s summary of the bill can be found here.  For more information on The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020, please contact Daphne Delgado at [email protected].

In addition to TFAH, original endorsing organizations include:

1,000 Days

A Vision of Change Inc.

Addiction Professionals of North Carolina

Addiction Connections Resource

All Youth Access, LLC

Aligning for Health

America’s Essential Hospitals

American Art Therapy Association

American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work

American Association of Birth Centers

American Association on Health and Disability

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

American College of Nurse-Midwives

American College of Preventative Medicine

American Federation of Teachers

American Heart Association

American Lung Association

American Institute for Cancer Research

American Kidney Fund

American Medical Student Association

American Public Health Association

Anders & Associates

Anxiety and Depression Association of America

APLA Health

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs

Association of Minority Health Professions Schools

Association of Public Health Laboratories

Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Association of State Public Health Nutritionists

Autism Family Services of New Jersey

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Behavioral Health Association of Providers

Berean Wellness & Community Support Center

Better Health Partnership

Bike Cleveland

Blue Shield of California

Bridges Into the Future

Brighter Beginnings

Brooklyn Perinatal Network Inc

Build Healthy Places Network

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals

California Pan-Ethnic Health Network

CARE ADVISORS

Caregivers of New Jersey

Center for Civil Justice

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Ceres Community Project

ChangeLab Solutions

Chicago Youth Programs, Inc.

Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition

Cleveland Public Library

Coalition for Disability Health Equity

Commission on the Public’s Health System

Common Threads

Community Based Organization Partners (CBOP)- Brooklyn Chapter

Community Catalyst

Community Cup Classic Foundation

Community Engagement Studio of Flint

Community Health Councils

Community Resilience Initiative

Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces

Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC)

Cook County Department of Public Health

Counter Tools

Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Deborah’s Place

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

Epilepsy Alliance America

Epilepsy Information Service of Wake Forest

Epilepsy Services of NJ

Epilepsy Services of New Jersey

Equality California

Equality North Carolina

Families USA

Farmworker Justice

Flint Association of Black Social Workers

flint rising

Flint Women’s Study Community Action Network

Florida Institute for Health Innovation

George Washington University Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement

Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice

Greater Chicago Food Depository

Greater Flint Health Coalition

GSK Consumer Healthcare

Health by Design

Health Leadership Legacy Project

Health Outreach Partners

Health Resources in Action

Health Care Improvement Foundation

Healthy Chesapeake

Healthy Kinder International

Hispanic Federation

Human Impact Partners

Human Rights Campaign

Illinois Association of Behavioral Health

Indiana Public Health Association

Impetus –  Let’s Get Started LLC

Japanese American Citizens League

Jump IN for Healthy Kids

Justice in Aging

Lakeshore Foundation

Lanai Community Health Center

Latino Coalition for a Health CA

Lutheran Services in America

Maine Public Health Association

March of Dimes

MaryCatherine Jones Consulting, LLC

Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Mid-City CAN (Community Advocacy Network)

Midwest Asian Health Association

MomsRising

MountainCare

Move United

NAACP

NASTAD

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

National Association for Rural Mental Health

National Association of Certified Professional Midwives

National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

National Association of Community Health Workers

National Association of Counties

National Association of County Behavioral Health & Development Disability Directors

National Association of County and City Health Officials

National Association of Social Workers

National Association of School Nurses

National Center for Transgender Equality

National Collaborative for Education to Address the Social Determinants of Health

National Council of Jewish Women

National Health Care for the Homeless Council

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Medical Association (NMA)

National Network of Public Health Institutes

National Nurse-Led Care Consortium

National Partnership for Women & Families

National Recreation and Park Association

National Register of Health Service Psychologists

National WIC Association

National Working Positive Coalition

Nemours Children’s Health System

NERDS RULE INC

Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials (NJACCHO)

New Jersey Public Health Association

NOELA Community Health Center

North Carolina Alliance for Health

North Central Public Health District

North Dakota Rural Health Association

Northern Michigan Community Health Innovation Region

NOVA ScriptsCentral

One Joplin

Oregon Vision Coalition

PacificSource

PFLAG National

Physicians for Social Responsibility, AZ Chapter

Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles

Piedmont Access To Health Services, Inc.

Presbyterian Healthcare Services

Prevent Blindness

Prevent Cancer Foundation

Prevention Institute

Project for Whole Health Learning in K-12

Population Health Alliance

Public Health Alliance of Southern California

Public Health Foundation

Public Health Institute

Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness

Respiratory Health Association

RESULTS

RESULTS DC

Silver State Equality-Nevada

SLM Consulting, LLC

Society for Community Research & Action (SCRA)

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Society for Public Health Education

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

tahoe forest Hospital Care coordination

Tennessee Justice Center

The AIDS Institute

The Center for Community Resilience

The Gerontological Society of America

The Health Trust

The Fairfield Group

The Family Resource Network

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health

The National REACH Coalition

The Participatory Budgeting Project

The Praxis Project

The Pride Center at Equality Park

The Wall Las Memorias Project

Training Resources Network, Inc.

Treatment Action Group

Trust for America’s Health

United Way of Treasure Valley

Valley AIDS Council

Vita Health and Wellness Partnership

Washington State Department of Health

Wayne State University Center for Health and Community Impact

WE in the World

Well Being Trust

West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition

Western Idaho Community Health Collaborative

Wholesome Wave

Wisconsin Division of Public Health

Wright County Public Health

Congressional Briefing: Ending the Triple Pandemic: Advancing Racial Equity by Promoting Health, Economic Opportunity and Criminal Justice Reform

On July 30, Trust for America’s Health, American Public Health Association, NAACP, the National Black Nurses Association, the National Collaborative for Health Equity, and the National Medical Association hosted a virtual Congressional briefing focused on the disproportionate health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Black community and other communities of color, and how structural racism drives systemic inequities in health, the economy, and criminal justice.

TFAH and our co-sponsors have compiled the following resources:

Pending Congressional Legislation:

 

Trust for America’s Health thanks our Congressional briefing cosponsors:

American Public Health Association

NAACP

National Black Nurses Association

National Collaborative for Health Equity

National Medical Association

 

New Data: Overdose Deaths Up Nearly 5 Percent; COVID-19 Creates Additional Stressors for Both Patient and Provider Community

(Washington, DC and Oakland, CA – July 20, 2020) – Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released preliminary data showing an increase in drug overdose deaths in 2019. These provisional data showed an estimated 71,999 Americans died from overdoses last year, a nearly five percent increase in numbers of deaths as compared to 2018 and a reversal of the prior year’s small decrease in such deaths.

The 2019 increase was largely driven by a rise in deaths from synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, as well as methamphetamine, and cocaine.

“These new data are a stark reminder that we must fight the dual public health threats of COVID-19 and substance misuse at the same time,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “While understandably focusing attention on the pandemic response, we can’t neglect the devastation caused by substance misuse and overdoses.”

An area of concern is that the COVID-19 pandemic could contribute to more substance misuse and overdose deaths. Preliminary data from the Office of National Drug Control Policy has found a substantial increase in suspected overdoses since the start of stay-at-home orders on March 19th, 2020.  And a new study, out this week by RTI International, found that alcohol sales have surged nationally during the pandemic.

In response to the pandemic, policymakers have eased certain regulations on the delivery of mental health and substance use services.  Telehealth requirements have been altered to allow for increased access through audio-only services and federal authorities have allowed for prescribing of buprenorphine and methadone, drugs t treat opioid use disorder, without an initial in-person examination.

Despite these changes, challenges remain.  COVID-19 has made access to substance misuse treatment more difficult for many.  Millions have lost or will soon lose health insurance coverage as unemployment rises.   Some are fearful of seeking care because of the threat of infection.  And relatively little is being done to address the upstream factors that elevate the risk of substance misuse, such as lack of educational and economic opportunities and racial injustice.

“How many more lives must we lose before we take seriously the need for a comprehensive call to action? We are going in the wrong direction and need to prioritize this larger epidemic within the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Benjamin F. Miller, Chief Strategy Officer for Well Being Trust. “We must begin by investing in solutions that work – those solutions that more seamlessly integrate mental health and substance use disorder treatment into all the places people show up for help.”

Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust co-produce the Pain in the Nation series which has tracked alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths nationally since 2017.  For more information visit: http://www.pitn.org/

 

 

COVID-19 School Closures Put 30 Million Children at Risk of Hunger

Many States with High COVID-19 Infection Rates Also Have Highest School-Meal Programs Participation Rates

(Washington, DC – July 16, 2020) – As COVID-19 infection rates continue to increase in states across the country, many of those jurisdictions are facing the complex dilemma of high infections rates complicating school re-openings and thereby limiting students’ access to school-based meal programs. Among the states with spiking infection rates and a high percentage of students participating in school-based meal programs are Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.

In March schools across the country began closing to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In response, and recognizing the important source of nutrition school-based meals were to millions of American children, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service began approving nationwide waivers to provide school systems flexibility in how meals were provided to students.  For example, these waivers enable schools to serve meals in non-congregate settings and outside of standard mealtimes, serve afterschool snacks and meals outside of structured environments, and waive requirements that students be present when meals are picked up.

Over half of all students in elementary and secondary schools across the country depend on the National School Lunch Program, and 12.5 million of those students also participate in the School Breakfast Program. As the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools this spring, these students were placed at risk of not having enough to eat.

A new policy brief, Beyond School Walls: How Federal, State and Local Entities are Adapting Policies to Ensure Student Access to Healthy Meals During the COVID-19 Pandemic, released today by Trust for America’s Health, reviews steps the federal and state governments have taken to ensure students’ access to healthy meals when schools are closed and what needs to be done to ensure continued meal access as all school systems face uncertainties about how to safely reopen for the 2020-2021 school year.

“School meal programs are the most important source of nutritious food for millions of American children. To the degree possible, school systems, with financial and regulatory relief from the federal government,  should continue to be innovative about how to deliver meals to students and should strive to meet or exceed federal nutrition standards for these meals despite product shortages created by the pandemic,” said Adam Lustig, Project Manager at Trust for America’s Health and the brief’s author.

Due to the economic impact the pandemic has had on millions of American families and the numerous uncertainties about how to safely re-open schools, the currently in place program waivers should be extended through the summer and may need to be kept in place during the 2020–2021 school year, the brief says.

Many of the states hardest hit by COVID also have highest school meal programs participation rates

States with some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections also have high percentages of students who depend on school meals for much of their nutrition. States in which both COVID-19 infection rates are above national medians and school meals program enrollment is high include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

States in which more than half of students are enrolled in school-meals programs are:

Percentage of students enrolled in school meal programs

D.C.                                        76.4%

Mississippi                           75.0%

New Mexico                         71.4%

South Carolina                    67.0%

Arkansas                              63.6%

Louisiana                             63.0%

Oklahoma                            62.5%

Georgia                                62.0%

Nevada                                60.8%

Kentucky                             58.7%

California                            58.1%

Florida                                 58.1%

Arizona                                57.0%

Missouri                              52.7%

New York                            52.6%

Illinois                                 50.2%

Alabama                              51.6%

Oregon                                 50.5%

Hunger, poor nutrition and food insecurity can increase a child’s risk of developing a range of physical, mental, behavioral, emotional, and learning problems. Hungry children also get sick more often and are more likely to be hospitalized. Maintaining children’s access to nutritious meals despite school closures not only ensure they do not go hungry, but also promotes children’s health.

“State and federal guidelines waivers have allowed school systems to provide meals to students during the pandemic response, keeping them in place this summer and into the 2020-2021 school year will be the difference between kids who have enough to eat and kids who go hungry,” Lustig said.

# # #

 Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. Twitter:@HealthyAmerica1

Newly Announced Order for Hospitals to Bypass CDC and Send Coronavirus Patient Information Directly to Washington Database Likely to Worsen Pandemic Response Rather than Improve It

(Washington, DC – July 15, 2020) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the nation’s lead public health agency, is uniquely qualified to collect, analyze and disseminate information regarding infectious diseases. It has been serving in that role since its creation and, in close collaboration with U.S. healthcare facilities nationwide, has developed a health statistics infrastructure that is the gold standard worldwide.

The problems with regard to the COVID-19 data collection have largely been a result of the decentralized and fragmented nature of both healthcare and public health in the United States. Furthermore, hospital data is only one aspect of what we need to know to fight the pandemic. A key role of health departments at all levels of government is to aggregate data to produce a detailed picture of a health problem at the national, state and local levels. Inadequate funding for data infrastructure, at CDC and at the local, state, tribal and territorial levels, is also a contributing factor.  That underfunding should be corrected rather than bypassed.

In the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, it is counter-productive to create a new mechanism which will be extremely complicated to build and implement.  Another area of concern is that the planning for this new approach did not substantively involve officials at the local, state, tribal and/or territorial levels.  This is a time to support the public health system not take actions which may undermine its authority and critical role.

Americans must have confidence in the integrity of health data and its insulation from even the suggestion of political interference.  Sending these sensitive data to a newly created entity overseen directly by the White House will not eliminate such concerns, it will increase them.

John Auerbach, President and CEO, Trust for America’s Health

Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO, Resolve to Save Lives

Lori T. Freeman, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of County and City Health Officials

Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director, American Public Health Association

Thomas M. File, Jr., M.D., MSc, FIDSA; President, Infectious Disease Society of America

Chrissie Juliano, MPP, Executive Director, Big Cities Health Coalition

William H. Dietz, MD, PhD, Chair, Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness, George Washington University