MICHIGAN — As 2022 draws to a close, public health leaders are celebrating the highlights and evaluating priorities for the future.
The Michigan Association of Local Public Health held a roundtable on Tuesday, assembling officials from all over the state to discuss achievements and challenges from the year.
As in past years, COVID-19 still figured into public health conversations in 2022. However, leaders are saying that the as far as COVID-19 is concerned, the playing field has changed.
"I would just reiterate that we have many more tools in our toolbox when it comes to COVID, as well as flu," said Jimena Loveluck, Health Officer in Washtenaw County, mentioning the rising availability of vaccines and test kits and medicines.
This year, child vaccination kept people healthy, but officials say they want to keep improving vaccination rates by focusing on communication and partnerships and relationships with the public.
Specifically, they're working to repair relationships with restaurants and schools, after stepping in as the bearer of bad news during the early pandemic lockdowns.
"But it is something that we are going to very proactively, you know, address and educate people about what we do and why we do it. And the fact that, you know, putting a mask on your child to send them to school is not the reason that public health was invented, Nor is it the major function that we provide," said Norm Hess, Executive Director at MALPH.
Other officials at the roundtable discussed what they said are under-emphasized responsibilities of public health, such as clean water quality, restaurant inspections, and maternal health care.
However, public health leaders also mentioned significant challenges in 2022, such as the politicization of public health issues and the number of public health officers who stepped down this year.
Officials attributed much of the hiring strain to pandemic stressors.
"I think not only are we trying to rebuild our teams and our staff, our workforce, but also taking care of the workforce that has been through the pandemic, and ensuring that they are equipped to keep providing services and sticking with public health," said Loveluck.
