“Is public health prepared for the future?” was a question posed and answered today by Michigan Association of Local Public Health Executive Director Norm Hess. The answer, he said, is no.

During his presentation before the House Health Policy Committee, Hess said the current local public health system is underfunded, understaffed and underappreciated, which could lead to a decreased ability to respond if the state faces another widespread public health emergency.

Hess said part of the problem comes from divided public perception about public health after health officers had to make “very difficult decisions” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Public health officers were sometimes faced with option one, which was sticky, option two, which was even stickier than option one and option three, which was the worst of all,” he said. “They had to choose which one they thought was going to save the most lives and prevent hospitalizations.”

Health officers were often demonized for their decisions, he said, but they were also part of the ranks of those with parents in nursing homes and children who couldn’t play basketball.

“Anyone who tells you that health officers were kind of doing this as a power trip or some sort of conspiracy to control people’s lives, that is not the case,” Hess said. “They lived through this, as well. Not only as professionals, but as residents.”

A problem that resulted was workforce shortages, Hess said, as lingering controversies have made it more difficult to attract qualified workers and new college graduates, and some departments say less than 50% of their staff have over five years’ experience due to high turnover rates.

Even though funding, resources and staff have flooded in to address pandemic shortages, Hess said it’s a temporary solution to the problems, “and it won’t be long before we’re back to where we were in 2020. Or maybe even behind, because our staff, some of them, have moved on to other sectors.”

He said the long road back to normalcy starts with support from the Legislature, first to advance the Association’s priorities.

Hess said between 1900 and 1999, human expectancy in Michigan grew by 30 years, changing the services that public health systems typically provide.

Initially, they were developed to control outbreaks like polio and measles, but challenges today center around treating chronic diseases and helping people of all ages develop healthier lifestyle habits.

Hess said those things, along with addressing the root causes of health inequalities, are only possible with investments in public health infrastructure.

Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) asked Hess if he believes the legislature is currently adhering to the 50% cost-share that is mandated between the state and local public health departments to fund essential services.

In his opinion, Hess said that’s not the case.

In 2017, he said the state realistically covered about 35%. Today, that number is up to about 44.94%, though it only considers the general cost of providing services and not how much is actually being spent on providing them.

This story courtesy of MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.