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May 2024

Why I’m launching this newsletter

Last year, I created The Other 80 podcast to host deep conversations about the things that help keep people healthy beyond traditional medical care - such as housing, social connections and food - and the cutting-edge policies, research and programs supporting whole person health. And you all have offered such a great response – thank you so much for listening and sharing your feedback.

Today, I am launching the Other 80 newsletter as part of my new role at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health to take the mission of the podcast even further by connecting the community in a different way. I hope this newsletter will accelerate learning across our network and help policymakers and implementers see around corners. But also, I want to help you stay up-to-date on events, jobs, funding opportunities and news in our space.

There are incredible opportunities all around us to connect, learn and share insights. I hope this newsletter will help you increase your own reach and impact, wherever you are.

Yours in health,

What’s on our mind… Will we ever break the silos?

In 2020, we learned firsthand how siloed public health and medical care are. Doctors had no idea who had tested positive for COVID at drive-through test sites. Policymakers had no way of knowing the availability of PPE and beds in hospitals across their states. And no one could track the equity gaps that put some communities at greater risk.

We all saw how these silos slowed the pandemic response and harmed people. However, they also inspired quite a few positive changes. Vaccination data is now flowing more dependably through data sharing networks. States have launched comprehensive campaigns to improve the collection of race and ethnicity data in clinical and public health settings. And public health communications is in the spotlight.

Yet it feels like that early progress has now stalled. Everyone is more or less back to their old silos.

I left my conversation with Anne Zink feeling much more hopeful and energized about the concrete opportunities we have to resume this braiding and integration work—and how needed it is! Whether we are tackling food security, the latest infectious disease or diabetes, public health and medicine need to work together to improve population health. Anne says it best:

“Public health is population health and if you want to make a difference … public health and health care have to be braided together. We need to not think about this in terms of separate systems, but we need to think in terms of patients and to get there, public health is that key chief strategist for population health and needs to be at the table.”

New podcast episodes

Episode 28: Think Like Zink with Anne Zink

One thing is clear from the last four years: public health leaders need to seriously upgrade their skills in communication and partnering. In this episode Dr. Anne Zink, who recently stepped down as Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, brings us a master class in both topics. Guiding the state through COVID she inspired both a Facebook fan group and the hashtag #ThinkLikeZink. Take a listen and you will see why.

Episode 27: The Patient-Led Revolution with Susannah Fox

Susannah Fox joined us to discuss her new book Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care. The book is a deep dive into the expert network of patients, survivors and caregivers who are charting a new path of innovation and research. It is for anyone who feels alone, forgotten or lost in the shadows of suffering as they navigate a new diagnosis. But, it’s also for anyone working inside healthcare who is fed up with the status quo.

What’s on our radar

We’ll be curating the latest news and evidence and bringing it to you with the conclusions front and center. These articles caught our attention this month. They're a good reminder that new and innovative programs don’t always deliver intended results

Medical debt is a leading cause of personal bankruptcy. But paying off patients’ medical debt – through programs like RIP Medical Debt – may not have an impact on family finances or mental health. Let’s focus our attention on helping patients avoid medical debt in the first place
Smoke from summer fires is bad for all of us but is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, increasing the risk of preterm birth
Discrimination against patients is sadly a common event. Nearly half of healthcare workers report having seen discrimination against patients. Do they have the tools to respond?
Three states – California, Washington and Montana – are now approved to offer pre-release services to Medicaid-eligible incarcerated people
The US is experiencing precipitous declines in life expectancy. New York City has launched an ambitious strategy to turn this around
This new study underscores a troubling issue for whole person care programs: social service referrals don’t always lead to getting services. What’s to blame? Often it’s complicated application processes and limited capacity

Career opportunities

Every month we’ll bring you a digest of interesting job openings. We’re seeing lots of opportunities this month for equity- and digitally-focused innovators

Executive

Mid Career

Federal Trade Commission is hiring a Technologist in Residence, Product Management & Development

Early Career

AcademyHealth is hiring fellows for their Summer 2024 Public Policy and Health Data Policy Fellowships
ADP is hiring a Digital Health Policy Intern

New funding

Here are some new funding opportunities of interest to the Other 80 community. A big item this month is the announcement of $100 million for AI solutions to address climate change from Bezos Earth Fund

NIH funding to advance health research through ethical, multimodel AI
University of California solicits multicampus research programs
RWJF is asking for prize nominations for communities pursuing health and equity
HRSA will provide $51 million for health centers to support patients transitioning out of incarceration
ARPA-H released HEROES RFP for outcome based financing of population interventions
Bezos Earth Fund announces $100 million for AI solutions to tackle climate change and nature loss

Events

Here’s a list of gatherings where you can find The Other 80 tribe. I hope to see you in Boston for the Design for Dignity conference where I’ll be speaking

Berkeley Changemaker Executive Education Program, May 21-23 (Berkeley)
Code for America Summit, May 28-30 (Oakland)
Design for Dignity, June 4-5, (Boston)
NACCHO360: “Heard it Through the Grapevine: Public Health Partnerships, Collaboration, and Innovation”, July 23- 26 (Detroit)

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