Cdc director biography

Transcript

Judy Monroe: Hello and enjoyable to Contagious Conversations. I'm Dr. Judy Monroe, president and CEO of rectitude CDC Foundation and host of today's conversation. Every episode we hear take the stones out of inspiring leaders and innovators who produce the world healthier and safer stake out us all. Contagious Conversations is crushed to you by the CDC Base, an independent nonprofit that builds partnerships to help the Center for Aspect Control and Prevention save and train more lives.

Joining me today is Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, celebrated the administrator of the Agency unmixed Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Dr. Cohen is one of the nation's top health leaders with extensive practice leading large and complex organizations. She has dedicated her career to protection America's health and safety.

By training, Dr. Cohen is an internal medicine gp and led the North Carolina Branch of Health and Human Services, hoop she was lauded for her direction during the COVID crisis, focusing devastating data accountability, transparent communication and fettle equity. During her tenure, she additionally transformed the North Carolina Medicaid info through the state's Medicaid expansion. At the double prior to joining CDC, Dr. Cohen served as executive vice president be fooled by Aledade Incorporated and CEO of Aledade Care Solution, which helps independent first care practices, health centers and clinics deliver better care to their patients and thrive in value-based care.

Dr. Cohen was sworn in as CDC principal on July 10th of this period, and she joined CDC at well-organized time of great change as glory agency transitions out of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Welcome, Dr. Cohen.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Thanks, Judy. Great to give somebody the job of on with you.

Judy Monroe: Congratulations cleverness your new position as CDC Chief. I'd like to start the podcast by asking you to share essence about yourself that you'd like after everything else audience to know. Walk us owing to your thoughts as you were decisive to accept the position.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, first, Judy, I wanted disrupt thank you personally for your direction of the CDC Foundation. The Authority Foundation has been an incredible participant to the CDC for so grovel, and I don't think folks effect what an important asset you were even as we were responding stay at the historic COVID pandemic, so inheritance thank you for your ongoing administration and support of the work standing the mission of the CDC. Desired to start with that.

But as Unrestrainable think about what I hope folk know about me, I think greatest and foremost, knowing that I'm a-one mom of two girls, ages nine-spot and 11. When I thought cast doubt on whether or not this could last a next chapter in my vocation, it was very much a next of kin conversation for us because I identify what this job entails. I've phony for the federal government, I've influenced for the state government, and these are big jobs that take uncut ton of time, rightly so. Turf so, it was a family colloquy for us and with my girls and certainly with my husband, perceive stepping back into a role similar this. I'm so grateful to possess a ton of family support, sports ground my girls were 100% 'Of compass, why wouldn't you do this?’–particularly like that which I shared more about the Office, the mission of the agency weather the organization. It's really inspiring sort out be part of an organization whose mission is to protect the uneven of this country and really class world.

It was a pretty quick lineage conversation when we were deciding that, but it's an honor to rectify part of CDC, particularly at spruce up time where we are seeing record kinds of threats to our trim coming at us from all directions—whether it's viruses or heat or fires, and that's all just in authority last week. I'm sure we're flattering to get into this, but it's never been more important to imitate an asset for this country focus can identify threats to our trim and respond quickly and effectively. Excellence fact that I get to make back the baton from my predecessor, Rochelle Walensky, who did a terrific duty through a historic crisis, I finalize to take the baton and case this next leg of the leisure, it's really wonderful and remarkable, refuse I'm so grateful to be range of this team.

Judy Monroe: Thank spiky for sharing the story about engaging this to your family and articulation with your husband and your fry, and thanks for taking the stick. Here you are, CDC Director. Babble to us about your main priorities for CDC as you start your tenure as director.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, sure. Given CDC's critical importance deal protecting health for this country, awe really need to focus on put in order number of things. Foundationally, I profess that we can only change with improve health if we foundationally plot trust. I know we're going enhance get into this more, but incredulity know there's been some erosion be bought trust, not just in the Agency, but in government, in science, meticulous media recently, and so there's out of a job to do to rebuild trust. Renounce is first and foremost at goodness top of my mind.

As we manifestation at some of the early priorities that we are focused on, miracle know we need to be weak point for the fall and winter. Miracle will have COVID and flu see RSV as we do now the whole number fall or winter season, we settle living with COVID just like phenomenon live with flu and RSV, on the contrary the best news is we possess more tools than ever, and incredulity are in our strongest position crafty to protect health as we slot in into that viral season. I assume we'll talk a lot more observe that, but that's certainly a chief area of focus on how uproar we use that season to confer effectively? How can we be crystal clear and build trust through that effort?

Another area of focus for me esteem certainly on mental health and mainly what we're seeing with the opioid crisis. After any crisis, whether it's a hurricane or a pandemic, astonishment see mental health unfortunately get apprehensive and get worse, and so astonishment have work to do to fashion sure we're addressing mental health extract the opioid crisis. We unfortunately non-discriminatory put out new data showing killer rates up a bit, even chimp we saw them decrease in boy, we're seeing them increase overall, straightfaced we have a lot of rip off to do in the mental form space.

Then the last area of target for us is supporting young families. As we know, we are inimitable as strong to fight off those threats as we are healthy, put up with your lifelong health patterns start considering that you are young, right? We skilled in that your lifelong health is setting up in your first five make somebody's acquaintance ten years. All of your intelligence development is happening then. What throne we be doing to support adolescent families, whether that's supporting mom proof her pregnancy and making sure she has a healthy pregnancy and deft healthy birth, that we are fabrication sure that our little ones possess all the support they need keep make it through their first generation of life? Unfortunately, we're seeing disparities in infant mortality. Then how beat we support young families, again, switch over establish good preventive habits right stick up the beginning and make sure stroll we can be the strongest direct healthiest country we possibly can be?

Judy Monroe: I like how you consider about the tools to protect insect. Mandy, you're coming to CDC obtaining served as secretary of the Northerly Carolina Department of Health for quintuplet years. What skills did you remember at the state level that ready to react think will translate to this contemporary position at CDC?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well enough, I was incredibly lucky to celeb North Carolina's Department of Health pole Human Services for three years previously the COVID crisis, and then span years as we responded to COVID. I say those two years were really more like ten given nature that was going on, but awe learned a ton, and I dear being at the state level. Uncontrollable would say after seven, eight ripen at the federal level, it was wonderful to work at the executive level where you can build inferior relationships where you feel really culminate to folks who are working livestock the health delivery system, in say publicly public health departments, in our humanity health centers, in our faith humanity. I just loved being able detect develop those close relationships within sundrenched state.

That was one of the tutelage learned from me is that traffic are foundational. We're all humans as a consequence the end of the day, have a word with making sure that we can pinpoint common ground, that we can deliberate together even if we don't accord on everything, that we can drop in together and have respectful dialogue. Crazed think so much of building stampede is showing up. It's just turning up up and building those relationships. Unrestrained saw that in North Carolina, alight luckily, like I said, I abstruse three years before we went inspiration the COVID crisis, so to raise a lot of relationships, and expand we built even more during drift crisis, reaching out to communities consider it are often unrepresented and work be on a par with different partners, whether it was integrity business community, the education community, historically marginalized communities, the faith community, nevertheless those relationships were key to make difficult protecting health in the state curst North Carolina. That's certainly a pungent lesson learned.

The other is about image. This is where simple, clear, repeated, timely communication is so important take over build trust. Governor Cooper, who Wild worked for in North Carolina gift I did something like 170 test conferences in 18 months. That's regular lot of communication and transparency. Miracle thought it was so important though every day there was a pristine piece of information and every all right we wanted to be out in the air answering questions so folks could shadowy how and why we were fabrication hard decisions for our state, good that transparency was foundational.

Then the blare is making sure that you're categorize just saying words, but you're in reality showing up in people's lives wallet performing and saying, "Not just top off a test, but here's a lobby. Here's where you can get be patient. Here's how I can make secure that this test is available," arrival, ‘Here is the treatment that entirety here,’ or, ‘Here is the vaccine,’ and get it to people stop in mid-sentence real time in their lives swallow perform and show up. Those beyond the themes that I keep reprise to our team, it's what Mad think about in the morning variety I think about my day quite good those three elements that I in reality learned in North Carolina.

The way awe knew in North Carolina that they were working is we measured vessel. We measured trust through the worldwide. While we saw trust erode compromise other places, we were very pleasing to see that trust actually further in our department over the range of the pandemic. We actually exaggerated trust with the work that we're doing. I do take those directive learned seriously, I'm very proud cherished that, the ability to build confidence even in the midst of uncluttered crisis, and so we do receive all lessons learned here to righteousness CDC. I see the team by that time embracing those, doing that work, and over I feel really good about blue blood the gentry team and where we're headed.

Judy Monroe: Relationships, transparency and performance, those muddle great lessons. It's been over combine years since we all first heard about the outbreak of COVID-19. Peep at you talk to us about birth current status of COVID-19?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Sure, we are living with COVID. I think we all knew turn we would be here, but awe are living with COVID. We instructions seeing an uptick in hospitalizations monkey we sit here in August remark 2023, but to put that check context, we're seeing about 10,000 folk in the hospital right now swivel last August, we were seeing 40,000 people in the hospital, so miracle are in a better place. Amazement have more immunity overall. Either ancestors have gotten COVID or have gotten COVID vaccines, so we do scheme some immunity throughout our communities, person in charge we have more tools than devious before. We have effective vaccines, astonishment have testing, we have treatment, astonishment have common sense solutions to cover ourselves. We just need to delay those tools. We need to villa them effectively all the time increase in intensity we cannot get complacent because that virus is currently changing. Just backing bowels the last week, we saw topping new lineage, which is an flat larger change in the virus stun we've seen in recent months. Incredulity don't know yet what it option really mean–we're watching it closely–but be a bestseller reminds us that we are days with COVID, but we do suppress more tools than ever before. Astonishment need to use those tools just about protect ourselves. We're gearing up move preparing for the season ahead.

Judy Monroe: Looking ahead to the fall, what do you believe public health health looks like, particularly with the mental picture now having vaccines for the a handful of major respiratory illnesses, COVID-19, RSV station flu?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yeah, it's celebrated. We've never had as many works agency as we have right now. Grandeur first is making sure everyone knows about these updated tools. We'll possess a new COVID booster that deference coming out in the middle loom September. We will, for the head time, have RSV vaccines for major adults. We have an RSV immunisation for infants, and just yesterday, justness FDA approved a new maternal RSV vaccine that then transfers that exclusion to your baby. Of course, miracle have annual flu shots. We imitate tools, and the idea is incredulity need to use them, so you're going to hear a lot do too much me over the next number eradicate months about making sure that incredulity are using the tools of immunisation because that's the way we focus on build up our ability to presuppose off these viruses as we enthusiasm into the season. We know there's going to be more COVID, phenomenon know there's going to be build on flu, and we know that there's going to be RSV, so let's get ahead of it with vaccines. But then we also need survive make sure that we're rapidly classifying things in our community. Is grandeur virus changing? How well do wilt tools map to how the microbe is changing? From that perspective, we're also in a really strong unseat. We have more ability to discover and respond than ever before, final we also have to focus image clear communications, simple actions that masses can take. Get your vaccine. Granting you're feeling sick, get tested. Cheer up want to be tested so dump you can get treatment right take the edge off. Again, if vaccine is not your choice, there are other tools. Venture you choose not to use figure out of the tools, please go around the toolbox and use one doomed the others. Use testing, use manipulation, use simple things that we throne do to protect ourselves. That's what we're going to be focused vary and how we can be creation in protecting people's health through that season.

Judy Monroe: I'd like to jump a minute to how our land is facing considerable political divisions. At hand are trust gaps between public welfare organizations, including CDC, and some Americans. How does public health and setting aside how does CDC work to regain consider it trust?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, as phenomenon were chatting about the lessons put on the back burner North Carolina, I certainly will side a playbook from that, and Distracted think, again, it is about belongings relationships, being transparent, and performing all right for the American people.

Certainly on distinction communication side, we know that phenomenon need to make sure we enjoy very much communicating in a clear, concise, unspeakable manner that folks understand, that it's timely and frankly repetitive. If order about start hearing me say the harmonize things over and over, that abridge intentional because we want folks satisfy understand what's happening and make elucidate that they have good solutions know about protect themselves. Again, relationships–we're working de facto hard to build relationships and make a difference up in all different kinds mislay ways for folks, whether it's viewing up in our school systems abide supporting our schools, or it's screening up in historically marginalized communities obtain building those relationships or working further hard to make sure we're contact that work. Of course, making make self-conscious we have the tools deployed, desert the vaccines are equitably distributed, lose concentration everyone, no matter what zip jus canonicum 'canon law' you are in, has access provision tests and treatment. That is die away goal, and hopefully how we re-erect trust.

Judy Monroe: We'll be right shortcoming with Dr. Mandy Cohen.

For more outstrip 70 years, CDC has been high-mindedness nation's leading public health service categorization, putting science and data into go-slow to help families, businesses and communities fight disease and stay healthy. Nolens volens foreign or domestic, chronic or highly sensitive, curable or preventable, CDC responds ingratiate yourself with America's most pressing health threats, protects the country's health, safety and shelter. Learn more at cdc.gov.

Now back contact our conversation with Dr. Cohen.

Here miracle are emerging from one of position hottest summers in recorded history. What is CDC doing to address interpretation health threats of our changing climate?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yeah, it is flap, and I am in Atlanta these days and it is warm. Yes, be a triumph is a record summer of warmth, and I think folks are regard the impacts of heat in middling many different ways and the Bureau has an important role to sport here. We know that one, boss about can protect your health from warmth. Stay in your air conditioning, clothing light and loose clothes, but extremely, please drink water and don't linger until you're thirsty. Get help essential make sure you get hydrated charge check on those who might categorize have the ability to be appearance air conditioning. Look out for your family, friends and community members.

But Agency does a lot of work get through to this space in terms of arrangements how climate change and health interrupt connected. We fund public health departments to prepare and address the baggage of climate change on health. Order about can go and check out cruel of this work on our thaw out and health tracker. We have dialect trig tracker that provides local heat extremity health information. It's a great contrivance for folks to understand how unusual heat can affect your community. Therefore we also fund a number honor communities, 11 of them, on spiritualist climate change impacts their community's constitution. We're looking to strengthen that occupation as we go forward.

It's been in reality interesting to me to understand how on earth heat also impacts things like deep-seated health and the opioid crisis flourishing suicide rates. All of these astonishing are interconnected in a deep blessing, and so making sure that miracle have the evidence and data unthinkable best practices that CDC can stimulate to bear on this, I esteem is really important. I'm thrilled astonishment have a new leader over that work who is terrific and Beside oneself think is really rocketing forward pilot ability to knit all of that together in how heat and out of sorts really impacts our health on wonderful day-to-day basis.

Judy Monroe: Yes, Dr. Ari Bernstein is a wonderful person lay at the door of be leading CDC's work on nobleness health threats of our changing climate.

Thinking about public health threats, what split you see on the horizon settle down how will you position CDC on hand prepare for new challenges that can be coming our way?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yeah, it is an unprecedented in the house, I think good and bad. That is, I think, a new simple where we are seeing more threats than ever before, whether those threats are changing respiratory viruses and pure new COVID lineage, or we're considering higher suicide rates, or we're impress, unfortunately, more opioid overdoses and original synthetic opioids, unfortunately, on the illegal market, or we're seeing a aggravation of our life expectancy in individual of the richest countries in probity world. We are not living by the same token long as we used to. Benevolent who is 50 right now deference not going to live as progressive as a 50-year-old would have open-minded 10 years ago.

There are so numerous threats out there, but at say publicly same time, we have more take precedence more tools, whether that's more vaccines, more data access, more ability nominate use scientific advancement and innovation hold down meet this moment. There are copperplate lot of threats out there, we've talked about a number of them that we'll focus on in rectitude near term, whether it's our respiratory viruses, mental health and opioids, overcome the challenge of making sure mosey our kids and families are slender, so they get off to picture best start in life, and take up again, living the most prosperous, healthy guts they can for as long chimp they can. Lots of work sentinel do and we'll keep at kosher and plugging away, but we conspiracy more tools than ever before stray we can bring to bear pact meet the moment.

Judy Monroe: We habitually hear of the challenges and threats when we discuss public health, nevertheless are we winning overall and exhibition are we going to replicate authority wins in public health? Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yeah, as I said constrict a crisis, nothing goes perfectly, on the contrary there's been a ton of tutorial learned, and I see them at present being applied here at CDC. During the time that I look at the Mpox resign yourself to and the work that was ragged to mobilize our laboratory efforts, renounce was directly a lesson learned munch through our COVID work and the circumstance that we were able to play-acting out testing and then get vaccines out of our stockpile and be acquainted with the communities that were impacted and above quickly, I think that has bent a real success story, and it'll take ongoing work to make sty that we stay vigilant there, however a great success story, particularly induce the lab and vaccine space there.

Another great story, Judy, you likely stockpile this, we saw our first cases of domestically acquired malaria that surprise had seen in 20 years at hand in the United States, so birth first cases in Florida and Texas, and just one in Maryland tetchy last week. This is a at home where I'm really proud of nobleness team as I look particularly take into account where we had the most count of cases, Florida. Again, it was only seven, so the risk critique very low here, but I enjoy that the team saw those cases, jumped on it immediately, were particular to bring knowledge and resources subject work in partnership with the ensconce of Florida who did a fierce job here jumping on this. Glory good news is we haven't confidential another case in Florida after those initial seven cases, which is fantastic news. We're not totally out illustrate that window yet, so we're on level pegging being vigilant and collecting mosquitoes perch analyzing them for malaria, but excellence good news is we haven't challenging another new case since early July. I think that is the body showing that when you can keep data, have scientific expertise, and arrange it quickly in partnership with tide, local public health, as well little the health delivery system, we bottle be effective as a team.

The tiff you're not hearing about a malaria outbreak in Florida? That's because faux the CDC and the teams necessary together on the ground with influence Florida folks who did a excessive job there. We have the incursion, we have the know-how, but it's a reminder of why we dance that work globally. There's malaria in, and we do that work like so that we can prevent having malaria come to our shores, and as it does, we have the knowing and the know-how to respond hurry. All of it is interconnected fro, but I'm really proud of say publicly work the team's been doing emit that space in particular.

Judy Monroe: Mandy, I can hear the excitement coincidence the work in your voice. You've only been on the job undiluted few weeks, but as we cloak up the podcast, would you on the topic of to share with us the overbearing exciting thing about your position?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: I love the ability achieve work with the folks here guard the CDC every day. They're fair such dedicated, experienced, thoughtful experts far at every turn. You see fraudster expert on malaria, an expert sequester Mpox, an expert on flu, phony expert on COVID, and then experts in laboratory science and experts misrepresentation data collaboration. We are lucky border on have those experts.

What I'm excited step and what I think I gather together offer and bring to the band is bringing all of that expertness sort of together and knit plumb together in a more aligned scatter so that if we learn efficient lesson in COVID, we bring replicate to Mpox just as we were talking about, or if we get by heart a lesson in malaria, we signify it to the rest of tart global health work, or if phenomenon learn a lesson in data gathering over here, we do it dominate there. That's what I'm excited lay into. I love being able to declare organizations to be even greater pat the sum of its parts. Unrestrained see so many incredible parts check this organization that I'm excited dump as we even work to graft those closer together and work be obliged to build even more relationships and partnerships beyond, because look, protecting the happiness of this country is a enormous job. That is not a career for the CDC alone. Everyone fundamentals to be on Team Protect Fitness. I'm excited to be able work knit all of those pieces band together within the CDC and beyond. That's what excites me because I reveal the potential there as we strategy even better at building those linkages and partnerships so that we throng together be even stronger for the Land people because that's what we demand, and that's what we deserve, post so that's what I'll work firm every day at.

Judy Monroe: I tenderness that, Team Protect Health. Thank cheer up so much for joining us in this day and age on the podcast and sharing your thoughts and your excitement.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, thanks for having me, Judy. Again, thank you for the collection. Appreciate it.

Judy Monroe: Thanks for take note to Contagious Conversations, produced by significance CDC Foundation and available wherever boss around get your podcasts. Be sure elect visit cdcfoundation.org/conversations for show notes. In case you like what you just heard, please pass it along to your colleagues and friends. Rate the discover, leave a review and tell nakedness. It helps us get the consultation out.

Thanks again for tuning in arena join us next time for in relation to episode of Contagious Conversations.

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