Speaker: Dr. Michael Caldwell, Past President
Why is NACCHO important to local public health?
Dr. Michael Caldwell: NACCHO is the professional association of all of the local directors of public health across the United States. It represents an important unified voice as well as the professional work and the professional standards of public health at the local community level and within each neighborhood. NACCHO connects all local public health departments and local public health professionals and serves to measure and to support the public health infrastructure of our country. NACCHO works to educate our elected officials at the local, state, and federal level and develops partnerships with our state and federal public health colleagues, so we can identify current public health challenges and to develop a plan to detect and to mitigate health risks and to improve public health in our country.
What future developments at NACCHO do you look forward to? What do you hope for with NACCHO in the next 30 years?
Dr. Michael Caldwell: I would like to see NACCHO serve as a leading example on how to live a life that helps to reduce chronic diseases. Specifically, it is time for NACCHO to lead the way by assuring that all meetings and organizations pledge to improve their commitment to reducing alcohol use, providing a fun and healthier adult beverage alternatives, improving nutrition and good food choices and promoting movement and exercise. It is so important for all of us who serve as community health leaders at the local level across our country to serve as models of healthy behavior as best as we can. Just like families and parents who model certain lifestyle behaviors, they tend to see those behaviors replicated in their other family members. So too, does NACCHO have the responsibility to idealize and to demonstrate that healthy behaviors are not just something we talk about but something that we live by and promote and demonstrate that it is easy to do, it is fun to do, and life becomes better for all of us at the individual, family, and community level. I helped to lead the way for NACCHO and for our country to tackle the problem of tobacco use in our community. We help to build smoke free communities and healthier communities across the United States. Let's choose to now lead the way and build healthier communities that choose healthier adult beverage alternatives to alcohol. I am the Chief Medical Officer for Dry January USA. Yes. The official home for Dry January in the USA is right here in Nashville, Tennessee at Meharry Medical College, a historically Black medical school where I currently teach, learn more at Dry January underscore USA on Instagram.
Briefly describe your term at NACCHO. What happened? What was your length in office? Any accomplishments? What happen
Dr. Michael Caldwell: I led NACCHO in the years 2004 to 2006. It was a time when we had a severe shortage of flu vaccine and we worked closely with the CDC, Congress, and the White House to manage the limited vaccine that was available. It was a time before the universal recommendation for the annual flu vaccinations. NACCHO helped public health emerge as a core component of the national security of our country. We held our first NACCHO Preparedness Summit that year in 2006, and I served as the keynote speaker and moderator. The resources from the Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act were flowing directly to local health departments across our country, and we led the way to build sustainable partnerships between public health, epidemiology, infectious disease, environmental health, and with our colleagues in emergency response, fire, and EMS. I testified to the United States help committee soon after 9-11 and on behalf of NACCHO, which was the first time that NACCHO was called up and sat literally at the table with our colleagues in fire, police, and EMS. For years, NACCHO had worked to embed direct funding for local health departments into federal legislation. We had our first major victory in 1999 with the passage of the first Public Health Threats and Emergencies Act. During my time as NACCHO president, that strategic planning and hard work started to bear fruit and continues to support and strengthen local health departments and communities around our country.
Dr. Michael Caldwell: Hi, I'm Doctor Michael Caldwell and I am Public health. I always look for opportunities in the community, whether it be with people, colleagues, family, friends, organizations to look for alignment, to see where we could build more connectivity and partnerships. When I served as NACCHO president. Also, that was one of the main objectives I had is to find other organizations that nature could partner with in more meaningful ways. And one of the efforts I led was for us to partner with the March of Dimes. So I am public health still throughout all the work that I do is to look to observe, to be out in the community, to be present, to challenge myself, to go to new places, to learn new things, meet new people and find new colleagues and partners and build stronger fabric, stronger threads, stronger connectivity so that we can improve public health throughout our country.
