More than 1,900 local public health professionals and other stakeholders recently attended the 2022 NACCHO360 Annual Conference, either in Atlanta or virtually.

This year’s theme, Looking to the Future: Reshaping the Public Health System, explored how the local public health workforce can move forward in the midst of an ongoing crisis while implementing traditional and innovative approaches to restructure a system built to protect the health of communities nationwide.

Attendees had the opportunity to participate in sharing sessions, learn from expert-led panels, and discover solutions to public health concerns, all while reconnecting with their peers and enjoying a little self-care through special wellness opportunities, like Pet Therapy and Laughing Yoga.

NACCHO360 Daily Breakdown

Tuesday - Looking to the Future: Reshaping the Public Health System

“The dawn of a new era in public health will give public health the tools and workforce needed to keep humanity protected against unprecedented threats to health.” ~Judith Monroe

Judith Monroe, President and CEO of the CDC Foundation, led a plenary session articulating what an integrated, adequately resourced, and equitable public health system could look like. National experts and public health leaders, including Melissa Lyon, MPH, Public Health Director, Delaware County, PA; Anand Parekh, MD, Chief Medical Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center; and Mysheika Roberts, MD, MPH, Health Commissioner, Columbus, OH shared their perspectives of a national vision for reform.

Wednesday - Data: Trusted, Accessible and Actionable

“We shouldn’t be settling for second-rate systems. Think about where we started with paper faxes and manual data entry...We have a robust dashboard and tools to show timelines, integrate with text messaging. Our disease investigators can talk to people right away with more success.” ~ Philip Huang

Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD, Associate Deputy Director, Public Health Science and Surveillance, CDC, led a plenary session on the importance of data to public health and advances in technology which make it possible to link health information across public and private systems. Speakers included Todd Davies, PhD, Marshall University; Philip Huang, MD, MPH, Director, Dallas Health and Human Services; and Christine (Chris) Alibrandi O’Connor, JD, Network for Public Health Law.

Thursday - Coping, Recovering, and Building Strength: Addressing the Mental Wellbeing of the Public Health Workforce During COVID-19

“All of us wanted to pull together as a team. When you put anything under pressure, what is good and working well stretches and bends, but what’s not working well breaks. Our team became stronger when we were put in a positive work environment.” ~ Justine Ginsberg

Margaret (Margy) Jahn, MS, MPH, Freehold Area Health Department, NJ led this plenary session exploring the impact COVID-19 had on the public health workforce’s mental wellbeing and discussing strategies for coping, recovering, and building strength within the workforce as we move forward. Featured speakers included Anthony Chen, MD, Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health, WA; Trey Doty, M.Div., ACC, President, Responder Life; Justine Ginsberg, BSN, RN, Farmington Valley Health Department, CT; and Elizabeth (Liza) Guroff, MA, LCMFT, Executive Director, Maryland Behavioral Health Association.

Congratulations to Our Award Winners

NACCHO announced multiple award winners at Wednesday’s Public Health Appreciation Reception during NACCHO360. Congratulations to all the honorees!

Bruce Dart, PhD, Executive Director of the Tulsa Health Department, received NACCHO’s highest honor, the Maurice “Mo” Mullet Lifetime of Service Award.

Chelsea Cipriano, MPH, Executive Director, Intergovernmental Affairs at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was named 2022 Advocate of the Year.

Five outstanding local health department programs were recognized as Model Practices, and 16 programs were recognized as Promising Practices.

Twenty-four outstanding local health department programs were named Innovative Practice Award Winners, with 4 Gold Awardees, 10 Silver Awardees, and 10 Bronze Awardees. An additional 15 programs received Honorable Mentions.

Access Conference Content on Demand

Registered conference attendees have full access to plenary and town hall recordings, sharing sessions, workshops, the exhibit hall, and other conference offerings for up to 90 days through our virtual conference platform.

Weren’t able to attend this year? You can still purchase a Virtual Registration to access content for up to 90 days after the conference!

Save the date for next year’s NACCHO360, being held July 10-13 in Denver, Colorado!