ARIZONA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION 2021 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
IN PERSON: DESERT WILLOW CONFERENCE CENTER
4340 E Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85040
Thursday, August 26, 2021
8:30am – 5pm
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an upheaval in Arizona’s public health and healthcare systems. Amid the pandemic, healthcare workers struggled to provide an optimal standard of care for their patients. Public health workers at the state, county and community level worked tirelessly to implement evidence-based interventions amid resource constraints and occasional resistance from elected and appointed officials.
Disruptions to the public health and healthcare systems also resulted in new and creative approaches to respond to this unprecedented public health crisis. County health departments and community-based organizations found new ways to leverage community health workers.
Telehealth was unleashed as a key intervention to safely provide care. Creative solutions to new problems were identified and implemented on an almost daily basis.
The pandemic also posed new challenges that still need to be met. Children missed out on well-child visits and fell behind on immunizations. Pre-existing health equity problems became more acute. Exhausted workers in both sectors sometimes began exploring alternative career paths.
As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis in Arizona, there is room for optimism. Unprecedented funding from the American Rescue Plan Act will infuse funding across a host of sectors that can be used to improve the social determinants of health.
More than $43M will be arriving in Arizona over the next two years to recruit, train and hire public health workers. Plans are underway to improve clinical rotation opportunities and training center locations. New efforts are underway to build more under-represented populations into the healthcare workforce.
Join us on Thursday, August 26, 2021 in person at the Desert Willow Conference Center in Phoenix as we explore these topics and more including updates from county health officials about their post-pandemic workforce needs and hear from our state and regional Area Health Education Centers as they develop plans to meet Arizona’s post-pandemic public health and healthcare system needs!
