Posted 06/06/2006

Keeping the Public Healthy:  A Common Sense of Passion, A Common Sense of Purpose

By SHELLEY HEARN

Speech prepared for
Arnold School of Public Health
Hooding Ceremony
May 4, 2006
Koger Center for the Arts

Good morning Arnold School of Public Health.

Thank you for that response -- which was said with true southern heart. And that is just what I am sensing from this stage. I stand here surrounded by an extraordinary sea of passion. What is it?

Well, you have spent thousands of dollars and hours and its time to get the hood.

But there is a bigger picture here. The passion in this room comes from a common sense of purpose that this group is destined to make a difference. That you can and will make this state, this nation, this world a healthier, safer place for all.

Which is why it is such an honor it is to be part of this Hooding Ceremony – there is nothing more rewarding, more hopeful than to be here with our next generation of heroes. 

Shelley Hearne is the founding executive director of Trust for America’s Health, a national organization dedicated to preventing epidemics and protecting people. She also is a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and environmental studies from Bowdoin College and a doctorate in environmental health sciences from Columbia University’s School of Public Health.

We thank you because you are about to embark on one of the most challenging battles for our future – our health. And we need you more than ever.

We are threatened by an ever-growing number of diseases, from A to Z, that are on a startling rise. Let me give you a snapshot. Let’s just start with A –

• Asthma -- Childhood rates have doubled in the past two decades. African American children are five times more likely to die from asthma than white American children

• Autism -- Alzheimer’s, all on the rise.

• Anthrax -- a bioterrorism threat.

• Avian influenza pandemic -- the White House said this week that up to two million American’s could die if it were to hit.

• AIDS -- the crisis is far from over with 15,000 dying a year in the US and an even more mind numbing toll in Africa.

• Alcohol -- the leading risk factor in the top causes of death among youth

• Antibiotic resistance -- more of our vital drugs losing efficacy so we have longer-lasting illnesses; extended hospital stays and possible death with basic infections.

That’s just the A’s. The list goes on and the consequences are unnecessary illness and suffering for millions.

In the US alone, more than 90 million people live with chronic diseases, which account for seven out of ten deaths in this country.

Amazingly, the majority of these diseases are preventable, yet this nation continues to accept that people will inevitably become sick. Rather than concentrating primarily on treatment, we need to work equally hard to prevent illnesses in the first place, particularly for those most at risk.

What does this mean? Let me give this some real life perspective and tell you about a family that lives about 2 hours from Columbia who I’ve worked with as extraordinary public health advocates.

Several years ago, Jill and Jeff McElheney’s youngest son was diagnosed with leukemia—the leading cause of childhood cancer. Twenty years ago, that would have been a death sentence with less than 20 per cent of the children surviving. Thanks to improved treatments, the good news today is that approximately 80 per cent make it and Jarret is one of them.

What’s troubling? In the recent decades, pediatric leukemia has been increasing approximately 1 per cent  a year. Treatments are better, but more kids than ever are getting this debilitating disease.

 The McElhanys asked why he got sick and what could they do to keep other children safe. They challenged political leaders to be part of the solution. Their actions lead to discovering that their well contained a toxic brew of chemicals. Now these are now shut down for the entire neighborhood.

It’s reminiscent of the early public health days of the 1800’s when Dr. John Snow in London suspected that a certain water well may be linked to hundreds dying from cholera. What did an early public health hero do? He called for political action but he also took off the pump handle. Guess what – cholera rates went down.

And guess what, no more children in Jarret’s neighborhood have been diagnosed with cancer since the wells were closed.

There are more and more communities with these stories who are ready to work with public health to make prevention more possible, more real.

And who will help lead that charge? Right here. Here are our future leaders who will be asking the questions, leading the investigations, making policies and taking actions so that we don’t have to just accept rising rates of cancer, communication disorders, childhood obesity.

 Do me a favor. Show me your hand if you are graduating in epidemiology and biostatistics? Here are our future health detectives who will be investigating why those rates are going up.

 Show me the hands of our environmental health graduates? Here are the scientists testing and analyzing for the preventable causes of illness.

Who is from Exercise science and physical therapy? You will be the heart of direct action. For example, here lies part of the solution to the obesity epidemic, which is one of our greatest public health crisis because of its link to 35 deadly diseases, from diabetes to cancer.

And how do you think we get the public to make those healthy changes – Let’s see the hands of the Health Promotion Education and Behavior graduates. They have some of the answers.

And who will be making the policies to create system wide change – such as healthy school lunches and better insurance coverage – lets see the health policy and management graduates.

Communication scientists, where are you? They are the first to tell you that early intervention is key. For instance, who will be leading the fight for South Carolina to catch up with 27 other states and make newborn hearing screening universally required by law?

 This, ladies and gentleman, members of the faculty, here are the solutionmakers. This is why I have hope that we will have a healthier society.

Now, make no mistake, this is not an easy task, but public health has done it before. Back in the 1800s, mothers were told to have twice as many children as wanted because half would succumb to infectious diseases or injuries. Americans live 25 years longer due to disease prevention advances such as clean drinking water and better nutrition and vaccines. These tremendous accomplishments turned what previously seemed like unconquerable acts of nature into preventable illnesses.

It was possible by determined public health leaders and a public that rallied to the cause. And by joining forces, we can do it again for the new sets of threats we face today. We have those ingredients in this room.

And let me acknowledge a key part of today’s success. We all know that no one can graduate from the rigors of the Arnold School of Public Health without the support of parents, family, faculty, spouses, partners, friends or children.

 To all of you who have been part of our graduates' support system, you have our deepest appreciation. You should be proud of your graduates. But now I ask two more things of you. First, become a public health champion – let your neighbors, your friends, your elected officials know that disease prevention is possible and needs to be supported.

Unfortunately, over the past several decades, public health programs at all levels of government have been allowed to decay and the consequences could be disastrous. We have already seen the warning signs: in the difficulty responding to the health challenges of Hurricane Katrina or the increasing health disparities where the sickest are typically the poorest. With the will, we can create healthier communities.

And second, it’s back to my simple message. Since you all showed me how to properly say good morning, can I ask you to join me with a New Jersey saying? When one of these graduates, one of our heroes comes up to thank you for your support over these years of schooling, what do you say?

Well, in NJ we would say, “No, thank YOU.” Because we all need and honor what the graduates on 2006 will be doing for all of us. It’s your common sense of purpose– that together, we can make disease prevention a reality, saving millions of lives, millions of dollars. “No, thank YOU” class of 2006. With all our heart.

For more information:

• Trust for America’s Health