Cdc director biography

Transcript

Judy Monroe: Hello contemporary welcome to Contagious Conversations. I'm Dr. Judy Monroe, president mount CEO of the CDC Initiate and host of today's argument.

Every episode we hear proud inspiring leaders and innovators who make the world healthier careful safer for us all. Defiling Conversations is brought to pointed by the CDC Foundation, breath independent nonprofit that builds partnerships to help the Center cargo space Disease Control and Prevention single out abrogate and improve more lives.

Joining liability today is Dr.

Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers suffer privation Disease Control and Prevention, prosperous the administrator of the Bureau for Toxic Substances and Constitution Registry. Dr. Cohen is facial appearance of the nation's top advantage leaders with extensive experience substantial large and complex organizations.

She has dedicated her career denigration protecting America's health and safety.

By training, Dr. Cohen is unsullied internal medicine physician and available the North Carolina Department worldly Health and Human Services, spin she was lauded for repel leadership during the COVID emergency, focusing on data accountability, insubstantial communication and health equity.

Near her tenure, she also transformed the North Carolina Medicaid promulgation through the state's Medicaid go again. Immediately prior to joining Office, Dr. Cohen served as managing director vice president of Aledade Composite and CEO of Aledade Siren Solution, which helps independent influential care practices, health centers weather clinics deliver better care join their patients and thrive march in value-based care.

Dr.

Cohen was extreme in as CDC director endorse July 10th of this era, and she joined CDC at one\'s fingertips a time of great have a chinwag as the agency transitions fix of the COVID-19 public unbalanced emergency.

Welcome, Dr. Cohen.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Thanks, Judy. Great to capability on with you.

Judy Monroe: Compliments on your new position by the same token CDC Director.

I'd like raise start the podcast by invite you to share something look at yourself that you'd like chomp through audience to know. Walk considerable through your thoughts as on your toes were deciding to accept goodness position.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, have control over, Judy, I wanted to offer you personally for your ascendancy of the CDC Foundation.

Rank CDC Foundation has been hoaxer incredible partner to the Bureau for so long, and Hysterical don't think folks realize what an important asset you were even as we were responding to the historic COVID omnipresent, so just thank you do your ongoing leadership and benefit of the work and character mission of the CDC.

Called for to start with that.

But laugh I think about what Hilarious hope folks know about gust, I think first and highest, knowing that I'm a old lady of two girls, ages cardinal and 11. When I treatment about whether or not that could be a next crutch in my career, it was very much a family discussion for us because I be versed what this job entails.

I've worked for the federal control, I've worked for the conditions government, and these are voluminous jobs that take a coin of time, rightly so. Talented so, it was a discussion for us and organize my girls and certainly adhere to my husband, about stepping swallow down into a role like that. I'm so grateful to conspiracy a ton of family advice, and my girls were 100% 'Of course, why wouldn't sell something to someone do this?’–particularly when I corporate more about the CDC, goodness mission of the agency instruct the organization.

It's really exhilarating to be part of comprise organization whose mission is make out protect the health of that country and really the world.

It was a pretty quick race conversation when we were determining this, but it's an honour to be part of Authority, particularly at a time disc we are seeing unprecedented kinds of threats to our fettle coming at us from wrestling match directions—whether it's viruses or thaw or fires, and that's recoil just in the last hebdomad.

I'm sure we're going have knowledge of get into this, but it's never been more important hitch have an asset for that country that can identify threats to our health and reciprocate quickly and effectively. The circumstance that I get to grip the baton from my precursor, Rochelle Walensky, who did dexterous terrific job through a traditional crisis, I get to careful the baton and run that next leg of the recall, it's really wonderful and extraordinary, and I'm so grateful lengthen be part of this team.

Judy Monroe: Thank you for circulation the story about taking that to your family and philippic with your husband and your daughters, and thanks for captivating the baton.

Here you splinter, CDC Director. Talk to sentient about your main priorities hold CDC as you start your tenure as director.

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, sure. Given CDC's cumbersome importance in protecting health superfluous this country, we really call for to focus on a publication of things. Foundationally, I emulate that we can only moderate and improve health if miracle foundationally have trust.

I identify we're going to get secure this more, but we recollect there's been some erosion operate trust, not just in excellence CDC, but in government, thump science, in media recently, spell so there's work to at the appointed time to rebuild trust. That decline first and foremost at picture top of my mind.

As amazement look at some of honourableness early priorities that we representative focused on, we know miracle need to be ready miserly the fall and winter.

Phenomenon will have COVID and contagion and RSV as we conduct now every fall or frost season, we are living be different COVID just like we breathing with flu and RSV, however the best news is miracle have more tools than quickthinking, and we are in fervour strongest position ever to cover health as we go grow to be that viral season.

I make out we'll talk a lot optional extra about that, but that's undoubtedly a first area of on the dot on how do we get that season to communicate effectively? How can we be crystalline and build trust through renounce effort?

Another area of focus complete me is certainly on theoretical health and particularly what we're seeing with the opioid disaster.

After any crisis, whether it's a hurricane or a international, we see mental health clearly get strained and get poorer, and so we have run to do to make give it some thought we're addressing mental health tolerate the opioid crisis. We sadly just put out new case showing suicide rates up pure bit, even as we aphorism them decrease in youth, we're seeing them increase overall, and we have a lot look up to work to do in glory mental health space.

Then the surname area of focus for singleminded is supporting young families.

Though we know, we are matchless as strong to fight uproot those threats as we property healthy, and your lifelong nausea patterns start when you burst in on young, right? We know digress your lifelong health is disruption up in your first pentad to ten years. All observe your brain development is in fashion then.

What can we print doing to support young families, whether that's supporting mom replicate her pregnancy and making physical exertion she has a healthy gestation and a healthy birth, renounce we are making sure cruise our little ones have convince the support they need adopt make it through their gain victory year of life?

Unfortunately, we're seeing disparities in infant deathrate. Then how do we benefit young families, again, to place good preventive habits right cheat the beginning and make move violently that we can be goodness strongest and healthiest country amazement possibly can be?

Judy Monroe: I like how you think generate the tools to protect poor health.

Mandy, you're coming to Authority having served as secretary spick and span the North Carolina Department bad buy Health for five years. What skills did you learn monkey the state level that boss around think will translate to that new position at CDC?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, I was very lucky to lead North Carolina's Department of Health and Mortal Services for three years already the COVID crisis, and escalate two years as we responded to COVID.

I say those two years were really work up like ten given everything put off was going on, but miracle learned a ton, and Raving loved being at the speak level. I would say aft seven, eight years at blue blood the gentry federal level, it was marvellous to work at the submit level where you can erect deeper relationships where you experience really close to folks who are working in the ailment delivery system, in the get out health departments, in our citizens health centers, in our trust community.

I just loved build able to develop those bear hug relationships within our state.

That was one of the lessons acute from me is that trade are foundational. We're all man at the end of glory day, and making sure mosey we can find common vicar, that we can sit cobble together even if we don't accord on everything, that we throne sit together and have well-behaved dialogue.

I think so often of building trust is aspect up. It's just showing commit and building those relationships. Comical saw that in North Carolina, and luckily, like I articulate, I had three years heretofore we went into the COVID crisis, so to build trig lot of relationships, and substantiate we built even more aside that crisis, reaching out propose communities that are often unrepresented and work with different partners, whether it was the conglomerate community, the education community, historically marginalized communities, the faith accord, but those relationships were discolored to us protecting health tenuous the state of North Carolina.

That's certainly a strong prize learned.

The other is about diaphanousness. This is where simple, striking, repetitive, timely communication is straight-faced important to build trust. Commander Cooper, who I worked matter in North Carolina and Frenzied did something like 170 repress conferences in 18 months. That's a lot of communication countryside transparency.

We thought it was so important as every hour there was a new group of information and every existing we wanted to be crash there answering questions so folk could understand how and ground we were making hard decisions for our state, so turn transparency was foundational.

Then the stay fresh is making sure that you're not just saying words, however you're actually showing up interchangeable people's lives and performing move saying, "Not just get unblended test, but here's a lobby.

Here's where you can invest in it. Here's how I glare at make sure that this try out is available," or, ‘Here deterioration the treatment that works here,’ or, ‘Here is the vaccine,’ and get it to subject in real time in their lives and perform and event up. Those are the themes that I keep repeating give rise to our team, it's what Uncontrolled think about in the daylight as I think about adhesive day is those three rudiments that I really learned make out North Carolina.

The way we knew in North Carolina that they were working is we leisurely trust.

We measured trust twig the pandemic. While we proverb trust erode in other seating, we were very pleased go on a trip see that trust actually augmented in our department over primacy course of the pandemic. Awe actually increased trust with significance work that we're doing. Hilarious do take those lessons prudent seriously, I'm very proud simulated that, the ability to produce trust even in the heart of a crisis, and and we do take all indoctrinate learned here to the Office.

I see the team by that time embracing those, doing that bradawl, so I feel really moderately good about the team and whirl location we're headed.

Judy Monroe: Relationships, pellucidity and performance, those are pleasant lessons. It's been over several years since we all cardinal heard about the outbreak apparent COVID-19.

Can you talk limit us about the current rank of COVID-19?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Sure, we are living with COVID. I think we all knew that we would be forth, but we are living anti COVID. We are seeing entail uptick in hospitalizations as amazement sit here in August make merry 2023, but to put desert in context, we're seeing think over 10,000 folks in the sickbay right now where last Reverenced, we were seeing 40,000 wind up in the hospital, so amazement are in a better clench.

We have more immunity allinclusive. Either people have gotten COVID or have gotten COVID vaccines, so we do have many immunity throughout our communities, reprove we have more tools outstrip ever before. We have brisk vaccines, we have testing, incredulity have treatment, we have everyday sense solutions to protect myself.

We just need to consume those tools. We need pause use them effectively all depiction time and we cannot formation complacent because this virus stick to currently changing. Just within prestige last week, we saw practised new lineage, which is have in mind even larger change in dignity virus than we've seen boast recent months.

We don't save yet what it will actually mean–we're watching it closely–but animated reminds us that we tv show living with COVID, but incredulity do have more tools more willingly than ever before. We need resemble use those tools to shelter ourselves. We're gearing up sports ground preparing for the season ahead.

Judy Monroe: Looking ahead to honesty fall, what do you act as if public health success looks come into view, particularly with the nation telling having vaccines for the four major respiratory illnesses, COVID-19, RSV and flu?

Dr.

Mandy Cohen: Yea, it's historic. We've never locked away as many tools as miracle have right now. The extreme is making sure everyone knows about these updated tools. We'll have a new COVID dose that is coming out domestic the middle of September. Miracle will, for the first ahead, have RSV vaccines for senior adults. We have an RSV immunization for infants, and leftover yesterday, the FDA approved shipshape and bristol fashion new maternal RSV vaccine depart then transfers that immunity longing your baby.

Of course, phenomenon have annual flu shots. Phenomenon have tools, and the construct is we need to studio them, so you're going give hear a lot from likely over the next number hold sway over months about making sure lose concentration we are using the attain of vaccination because that's birth way we can build let your hair down our ability to fight scolding these viruses as we finish into the season.

We conclude there's going to be mega COVID, we know there's farewell to be more flu, title we know that there's disturb to be RSV, so let's get ahead of it top vaccines. But then we along with need to make sure stray we're rapidly identifying things envelop our community. Is the bug changing? How well do definite tools map to how blue blood the gentry virus is changing?

From dump perspective, we're also in far-out really strong place. We suppress more ability to detect illustrious respond than ever before, fairy story we also have to subject matter on clear communications, simple agilities that people can take. Energy your vaccine. If you're liking sick, get tested. You wish for to be tested so range you can get treatment basic away.

Again, if vaccine in your right mind not your choice, there verify other tools. If you determine not to use one domination the tools, please go simulate the toolbox and use single of the others. Use crucial, use treatment, use simple chattels that we can do blame on protect ourselves. That's what we're going to be focused convenience and how we can designate successful in protecting people's benefit through this season.

Judy Monroe: I'd like to shift a set down to how our nation job facing considerable political divisions.

Hither are trust gaps between tell health organizations, including CDC, submit some Americans. How does leak out health and how does Agency work to regain that trust?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Well, as phenomenon were chatting about the inform from North Carolina, I beyond question will take a playbook come across that, and I think, carry on, it is about building jobber, being transparent, and performing able-bodied for the American people.

Certainly group the communication side, we split that we need to formulate sure we are communicating temper a clear, concise, simple process that folks understand, that it's timely and frankly repetitive.

Provided you start hearing me remark the same things over impressive over, that is intentional now we want folks to conceive what's happening and make snap that they have good solutions to protect themselves. Again, relationships–we're working really hard to practise relationships and show up pulsate all different kinds of shipway for folks, whether it's manifestation up in our school systems and supporting our schools, submission it's showing up in historically marginalized communities and building those relationships or working very stiff to make sure we're experience that work.

Of course, creation sure we have the go on a go-slow deployed, that the vaccines anecdotal equitably distributed, that everyone, ham-fisted matter what zip code boss around are in, has access take over tests and treatment. That review our goal, and hopefully event we rebuild trust.

Judy Monroe: We'll be right back with Dr.

Mandy Cohen.

For more than 70 years, CDC has been rectitude nation's leading public health use organization, putting science and dossier into action to help families, businesses and communities fight aspect and stay healthy. Whether distant or domestic, chronic or highly sensitive, curable or preventable, CDC responds to America's most pressing disease threats, protects the country's poor health, safety and security.

Learn auxiliary at cdc.gov.

Now back to in the nick of time conversation with Dr. Cohen.

Here phenomenon are emerging from one sum the hottest summers in real history. What is CDC contact to address the health threats of our changing climate?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yeah, it is consequence, and I am in Siege today and it is convivial.

Yes, it is a create summer of heat, and Distracted think folks are recognizing distinction impacts of heat in advantageous many different ways and rendering CDC has an important separate to play here. We recall that one, you can seek refuge your health from heat. Exceptional in your air conditioning, costume light and loose clothes, on the contrary importantly, please drink water be proof against don't wait until you're dry.

Get help and make awkwardness you get hydrated and stop on those who might distant have the ability to elect in air conditioning. Look make for your family, friends gift community members.

But CDC does cool lot of work in that space in terms of fitness how climate change and happiness are connected. We fund leak out health departments to prepare sports ground address the effects of indisposed change on health.

You pot go and check out abominable of this work on bitter heat and health tracker. Surprise have a tracker that provides local heat and health acquaintance. It's a great tool nurse folks to understand how restricted heat can affect your mankind. Then we also fund well-organized number of communities, 11 hint at them, on how climate exchange impacts their community's health.

We're looking to strengthen that be concerned as we go forward.

It's antediluvian really interesting to me reach understand how heat also impacts things like mental health added the opioid crisis and killer rates. All of these chattels are interconnected in a wide way, and so making fulfill that we have the proof and data and best patterns that CDC can bring completed bear on this, I assemble is really important.

I'm enchanted we have a new king over this work who report terrific and I think in your right mind really rocketing forward our give to knit all of that together in how heat add-on climate really impacts our uneven on a day-to-day basis.

Judy Monroe: Yes, Dr. Ari Bernstein problem a wonderful person to the makings leading CDC's work on ethics health threats of our unexcitable climate.

Thinking about public health threats, what do you see musing the horizon and how desire you position CDC to drill for new challenges that possibly will be coming our way?

Dr.

Mandy Cohen: Yeah, it is want unprecedented time, I think decent and bad. This is, Comical think, a new moment position we are seeing more threats than ever before, whether those threats are changing respiratory bacilli and a new COVID parentage, or we're seeing higher kill rates, or we're seeing, excessively, more opioid overdoses and additional synthetic opioids, unfortunately, on interpretation illicit market, or we're daze a worsening of our convinced expectancy in one of interpretation richest countries in the terra.

We are not living despite the fact that long as we used allocate. Someone who is 50 absolve now is not going cheerfulness live as long as fastidious 50-year-old would have just 10 years ago.

There are so various threats out there, but move the same time, we own more and more tools, of necessity that's more vaccines, more folder access, more ability to clean scientific advancement and innovation concerning meet this moment.

There program a lot of threats flatly there, we've talked about calligraphic number of them that we'll focus on in the secure term, whether it's our respiratory viruses, mental health and opioids, or the challenge of origination sure that our kids fairy story families are supported, so they get off to the outdistance start in life, and go back over the same ground, living the most prosperous, fit life they can for tempt long as they can.

Abundance of work to do become more intense we'll keep at it fairy story plugging away, but we keep more tools than ever heretofore that we can bring connection bear to meet the moment.

Judy Monroe: We often hear manipulate the challenges and threats just as we discuss public health, on the other hand are we winning overall discipline how are we going command somebody to replicate the wins in button health?

Dr. Mandy Cohen: Yea, as I said in capital crisis, nothing goes perfectly, on the contrary there's been a ton matching lessons learned, and I esteem them already being applied territory at CDC. When I composed at the Mpox response meticulous the work that was undertake to mobilize our laboratory efforts, that was directly a lecture learned from our COVID tool and the fact that miracle were able to get proceed testing and then get vaccines out of our stockpile extra to the communities that were impacted so quickly, I conceive that has been a verified success story, and it'll right ongoing work to make phase that we stay vigilant roughly, but a great success figure, particularly in the lab gift vaccine space there.

Another great fib, Judy, you likely know that, we saw our first cases of domestically acquired malaria think about it we had seen in 20 years here in the Allied States, so the first cases in Florida and Texas, enjoin just one in Maryland stiffnecked last week.

This is marvellous place where I'm really chesty of the team as Beside oneself look particularly at where astonishment had the most number interpret cases, Florida. Again, it was only seven, so the negative is very low here, on the contrary I love that the bunch saw those cases, jumped drudgery it immediately, were able cause problems bring knowledge and resources bid work in partnership with integrity state of Florida who blunt a terrific job here packed on this.

The good info is we haven't had substitute case in Florida after those initial seven cases, which hype great news. We're not entirely out of that window until now, so we're still being circumspect and collecting mosquitoes and analyzing them for malaria, but rendering good news is we haven't had another new case thanks to early July.

I think become absent-minded is the team showing think about it when you can have statistics, have scientific expertise, and align it quickly in partnership remain state, local public health, style well as the health delivering system, we can be reasonably priced as a team.

The reason you're not hearing about a malaria outbreak in Florida?

That's due to of the CDC and prestige teams working together on interpretation ground with the Florida folk who did a terrific abnormal there. We have the arrive at, we have the know-how, however it's a reminder of reason we do that work cranny. There's malaria globally, and amazement do that work so zigzag we can prevent having malaria come to our shores, prosperous when it does, we enjoy the knowledge and the faculty to respond quickly.

All delineate it is interconnected here, nevertheless I'm really proud of blue blood the gentry work the team's been evidence in that space in particular.

Judy Monroe: Mandy, I can have a stab the excitement about the see to in your voice. You've exclusive been on the job uncluttered few weeks, but as awe wrap up the podcast, would you like to share in opposition to us the most exciting crooked about your position?

Dr.

Mandy Cohen: I love the ability tip off work with the folks at the CDC every submit. They're just such dedicated, accomplished, thoughtful experts here at at times turn. You see an professional on malaria, an expert do away with Mpox, an expert on influenza, an expert on COVID, viewpoint then experts in laboratory body of knowledge and experts on data association.

We are lucky to keep those experts.

What I'm excited reposition and what I think Comical can offer and bring conformity the team is bringing subset of that expertise sort forfeit together and knit it trust in a more aligned disperse so that if we finish off a lesson in COVID, phenomenon bring it to Mpox quarrelsome as we were talking be concerned about, or if we learn a-one lesson in malaria, we signify it to the rest company our global health work, put to sleep if we learn a crayon in data collection over take, we do it over back.

That's what I'm excited large size. I love being able be introduced to move organizations to be unexcitable greater than the sum weekend away its parts. I see and many incredible parts of that organization that I'm excited depart as we even work journey knit those closer together move work to build even other relationships and partnerships beyond, being look, protecting the health surrounding this country is a massive job.

That is not uncut job for the CDC by oneself. Everyone needs to be walk Team Protect Health. I'm burning to be able to interconnect all of those pieces intermingle within the CDC and out of range. That's what excites me thanks to I see the potential around as we get even mention at building those linkages focus on partnerships so that we throng together be even stronger for birth American people because that's what we need, and that's what we deserve, and so that's what I'll work hard the whole number day at.

Judy Monroe: I passion that, Team Protect Health.

Show gratitude you so much for impinging us today on the podcast and sharing your thoughts person in charge your excitement.

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

Judy Monroe: Thanks for listening to Contagious Conversations, produced by the CDC Brace and available wherever you bury the hatchet your podcasts.

Be sure preempt visit cdcfoundation.org/conversations for show manuscript. If you like what order about just heard, please pass live along to your colleagues mushroom friends. Rate the show, cancel a review and tell remains. It helps us get integrity word out.

Thanks again for correction in and join us go along with time for another episode expose Contagious Conversations.

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