State Category: District of Columbia

U.S. Experienced Highest Ever Combined Rates of Deaths Due to Alcohol, Drugs, and Suicide During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Deaths spanned ages, racial and ethnic groups, and geography but disproportionally harmed young people and people of color

Solutions are known and must be implemented

(Washington, DC – May 24, 2022) – Deaths associated with alcohol, drugs, and suicide took the lives of 186,763 Americans in 2020, a 20 percent one year increase in the combined death rate and the highest number of substance misuse deaths ever recorded for a single year, according to a report released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Well Being Trust.  In addition, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show drug overdose deaths continued to increase in 2021.

While alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths have been increasing for decades, the 2020 increase was unprecedented and driven by a 30 percent increase in the rate of drug-induced deaths and a 27 percent increase in the rate of alcohol-induced deaths.  Combined rates of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths increased in all 50 states except New Hampshire, and for the first time two states – West Virginia and New Mexico – surpassed 100 deaths per 100,000 state residents from alcohol, drugs, and suicide combined in a single year.

  • The overall drug-induced death rate increased by 30 percent, largely driven by increases in deaths due to use of synthetic opioids and psychostimulants. The rate of drug-induced death rose for all but one population group – those over 75 years of age. There were particularly large increases in communities of color, among youth (17 years old and younger) and young adults (18-34 years of age) and in the South and West regions of the country.
  • Alcohol-induced death rates increased by 27 percent, and the increase spanned demographic groups and parts of the country, including in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Increases were particularly high among young adults, American Indians/Alaska Native and Asian communities, and for those living in the Midwest.
  • Overall suicide rates declined by 3 percent but that trend was not universal. The decline occurred among white people but suicide deaths for the year increased among American Indian, Black, and Latino people. Suicide rates for adults ages 35-74, declined, but rates for youth and young adults increased.

“With the trends continuing to go in the wrong direction we must ask ourselves, what will it take to move to robust and comprehensive action? The story behind these data is beyond devastating and heartbreaking to those families who have suffered loss,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Miller, President, Well Being Trust. “Let’s begin to address this crisis with the urgency it deserves by bringing care to where people are. From schools to primary care to our workplaces, let’s ensure that all places are equipped to address mental health and substance misuse. This is not just the responsibility of the mental health and addiction field – but all our responsibility.”

TFAH and Well Being Trust have been reporting alcohol-induced, drug-induced and suicide deaths as part of their Pain in the Nation initiative since 2017.  In the initiative’s inaugural 2017 report, alcohol, drug and suicide deaths accounted for 55,403 deaths per year, as compared to the 186,763 deaths associated with alcohol, drugs or suicide in this year’s report. According to the report authors and other experts, the stunning increase in alcohol and drug deaths in 2020 was exacerbated by: a continued rise in synthetic opioid and psychostimulant overdoses and the anxiety, stress, grief, disruption to substance misuse recovery programs, and financial hardship many individuals and families experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report includes recommendations for steps the federal, state, and local governments should take to begin to reverse the deaths of despair crisis.  They include:

Invest in programs that promote health and prevent substance misuse and suicide:

  • Support in-school programs focused on students’ mental health and preventing substance use.
  • Strengthen trauma-informed and culturally competent and linguistically appropriate programs within all youth-serving agencies, including the juvenile justice system.
  • Strengthen the continuum of crisis intervention programs with a focus on the newly established “988” lifeline.
  • Expand CDC comprehensive suicide-prevention efforts, including measures to strengthen economic supports, promote connectedness, and create protective environments.
  • Build programs that address the social determinants of health and promote resilience in children, families and communities including those focused on the prevention of adverse childhood experiences.

Address the substance misuse and overdose crises:

  • Promote harm-reduction policies to reduce overdose and blood-borne infections, including increasing access to syringe service programs, naloxone, and fentanyl test strips.
  • Preserve and extend programs that create more flexible access to substance use disorder treatment during the pandemic.
  • Direct funding from the opioid litigation settlement to primary prevention of youth substance misuse.
  • Lower excessive alcohol use through policies that limit where and when alcohol can be served/purchased and by the use of alcohol excise taxes.

Transform the mental health and substance abuse prevention system

  • Increase access to mental health and substance use treatment through full enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
  • Combat stigma about mental health issues and access to service.
  • Modernize physical and mental health services by aligning service delivery, provider payment, quality measures, and training toward the whole health of individuals and integrated care.
  • Build grassroots community capacity for early identification and intervention for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders, including through community-based or non-traditional settings.

“It is imperative that officials at every level of government act on the recommended policies in this report.  The data are shockingly clear – lives are at risk in every community due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide and communities that experience disadvantage because of long-standing social, economic and environmental inequities suffer a disproportionate impact. There is an urgent need for action in order to save lives,” said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO of the Trust for America’s Health.

Read the full report

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. 

Well Being Trust is an impact philanthropy dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation.

TFAH’s Portal of COVID-19 Resources

The following is a list of TFAH resources and documents related to the novel coronavirus read of COVID-19 and better equip the nation’s public health system to deal with this and future health emergencies.

Press Releases and Statements

20 Public Health Organizations Condemn Herd Immunity Scheme for Controlling Spread of SARS-CoV-2   The virus that causes COVID-19 has infected at least 7.8 million people in the United States and 38 million worldwide. It has led to over 215,000 deaths domestically, and more than 1 million globally – with deaths continuing to climb… read more (October 14, 2020)

Newly Announced Order for Hospitals to Bypass CDC and Send Coronavirus Patient Information Directly to Washington Database Likely to Worsen Pandemic Response Rather than Improve It  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the nation’s lead public health agency, is uniquely qualified to collect, analyze and disseminate information regarding infectious diseases… read more (July 16, 2020)

Nearly 350 Public Health Organizations Implore HHS Secretary Azar to Support CDC’s Critical Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response  The expertise of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and all public health agencies is critical to protecting Americans’ health during the COVID-19 crisis, said a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar from 347 health and public health organizations released today… read more (July 7, 2020)

Public Health Needs Our Support “As our nation’s struggles to manage the continued surge of COVID-19 cases, we need to strengthen the public health response… read more (June 23, 2020)

Summary of CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on COVID-19 Impact Patterns This is the first data reported on U.S. patients and is consistent with findings from other countries. Key takeaways… read more (March 31, 2020)

Trust for America’s Health Statement in Response to Congressional Passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)
“Congress took an important step today to begin giving public health the resources it needs now to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are seeing in real-time the impact of the chipping away at public health budgets over the past 15 years… read more (March 27, 2020)

Cross-Sector Group of Eighty-eight Organizations Calls on Congress to Address Americans’ Mental Health and Substance Misuse Treatment Needs as Part of COVID-19 Response
A cross-sector group of 88 organizations from the mental health and substance misuse, public health and patient-advocacy sectors are jointly calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to address the immediate and long term mental health and substance misuse treatment needs of all Americans as part of their COVID-19 response… read more (March 20, 2020)

55 Organizations Call for Passage and Fast Implementation of Paid Sick Leave for all Workers as a Critical Part of COVID-19 Response
A cross-sector group of 55 public health, health, labor, business, and social policy organizations are jointly calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to pass and quickly implement a federal paid sick leave law that provides 14 days of such leave to all workers, available immediately… read more (March 13, 2020)

TFAH Applauds Passage of Supplemental Funding for COVID-19 Response: Now Funding Must Move Quickly to States and Other Entities
TFAH applauds Congress’ fast action in approving the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R 6074). We now call on the tasked federal agencies to move quickly to send the appropriated monies to the agencies and localities working at the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis… read more (March 5, 2020)

TFAH Statement on COVID-19 Preparations
Now that the U.S. has transitioned from the planning phase to the response phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Federal Executive Branch and Congress as well as state and local governments and other stakeholders should prioritize… read more (March 3, 2020)

Congressional Testimony and Sign-on Letters

Commentaries and Op-Eds

Additional News Coverage We Recommend

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

as compiled by the New York Times

 

 

CDC COVID-19 Information Resources

COVID-19 and Response: Webinars and Briefings

Related Reports

TFAH Applauds Announcement of White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

(Washington, DC – May 4, 2022) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement that it will hold a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this coming September.  The conference, which was authorized and funded by Congress with bipartisan support, will be the second of its kind. The first, held in 1969, resulted in critical legislation to support Americans’ nutritional needs.

The conference will be held at a time the country is facing epidemic level numbers of diet-related health problems including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic disease, many associated with having obesity or being overweight.  Over 42 percent of all U.S. adults have obesity and social determinants, such as poverty and neighborhood resources, contribute to persistent disparities in obesity prevalence.  Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic and social stressors led to an increase in food insecurity and weight gain for many American families. Food insecurity–being unable to access enough affordable, nutritious food–is related to obesity and other nutrition-based diseases.

“This conference will be an important opportunity to create an action plan to address America’s nutrition and hunger crisis,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO, Trust for America’s Health.  “A growing number of Americans are dealing with diet-related chronic health problems, and parts of the population – individuals and families who live in rural areas, people with lower income and many people of color – face even higher rates of diet-related diseases and food insecurity. The stark amount of preventable disease that is related to the nation’s current food system and food environment needs urgent attention. Addressing these issues will make our country healthier and more equitable.”

TFAH tracks the nation’s obesity crisis in its annual report, State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America  which includes recommendations for policy action in five broad areas:

  • Ensure access to healthy school meals for all children, which would decrease food insecurity, improve educational achievement, and decrease rates of diet-related disease. Nutrition standards of school meals and snacks should also be strengthened.
  • Expand access to nutrition support programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and maintain eligibility and flexibility provisions created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, nutrition support programs should expand voluntary pilots to evaluate innovative approaches to healthy eating, such as providing increased incentives for the purchase of fruits and vegetables.
  • Advance health equity by targeting obesity prevention programs in communities with high levels of individuals living with obesity and unhealthy excess weight, including expanding CDC’s obesity-prevention programs like the State Physical Activity and Nutrition program and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health program.
  • Strengthen obesity prevention programs within the healthcare system by expanding access to healthcare coverage and requiring health insurers to cover obesity-related prevention services, such as the Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration program.
  • Call on the private sector to change marketing strategies that lead to poor nutritional choices and pursue pricing strategies that tax sugary drinks and eliminate business-cost deductions related to the advertising of unhealthy food to children.
  • Make physical activity safer and more accessible for everyone by providing funding for programs in the CDC’s Division on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, which increase physical education in early care and education systems and create activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations.

 

New Report: Fewer States Placed in Top Performance Tier for Public Health Preparedness in 2021

COVID–19 Pandemic Continues to Illustrate the Critical Need to Invest in Public Health Infrastructure and the Social Determinants of Health

(Washington, DC – March 10, 2022) – As the nation enters its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report calls for urgent investment to create a public health system able to protect all Americans’ health during emergencies. The report, released today by Trust for America’s Health, measures states’ performance on 10 key emergency preparedness indicators and identifies gaps in states’ readiness to respond to emergencies. The report includes policy recommendations for strengthening the nation’s health security.

The report, Ready or Not 2022: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, measures states’ degree of preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services, including disease surveillance, seasonal flu vaccination, safe water, and expanded healthcare services during emergencies. It tiers states and the District of Columbia into three performance levels: high, middle, and low, placing 17 states and DC in the high-performance tier, 20 states in the middle performance tier, and 13 states in the low performance tier. The 2021 report placed, 20 states and the District of Columbia in the high-performance tier.

States’ Performance by Tiers

Performance Tier States Number of States
High Tier AL, CO, CT, DC, FL, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, NJ, OH, PA, SC, UT, VA, VT, WA 17 states and DC
Middle Tier AZ, CA, DE, GA, ID, ME, MI, MO, MS, NE, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, RI, TN, TX, WI 20 states
Low Tier AK, AR, HI, IN, KY, LA, MN, MT, NV, OR, SD, WV, WY 13 states

 

This year’s report found that 12 states improved their performance while 16 states slipped in their ranking. All states’ performance is relative to that of other states.

Three states, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, improved their performance by two tiers.

Nine states improved by one tier: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.

Sixteen states fell one tier: Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

In addition, the report found:

  • A majority of states had plans in place to expand healthcare and public health laboratory capabilities in an emergency.
  • Most states are accredited in the areas of public health, emergency management or both.
  • A large majority of Americans who receive their household water through a community water system had access to safe water.
  • Only about half of the U.S. population is served by a comprehensive local public health system.
  • Seasonal flu vaccination rates have risen significantly in recent years but are still lower than the goal set by Healthy People 2030.
  • Just over half of workers used some kind of paid time-off in a one-month sample. The need for paid time off has become particularly apparent during the pandemic, as many workers became ill or needed to care for a sick family member.
  • Only 28 percent of hospitals, on average, earned a top-quality patient safety grade during the year, down from 31 percent the year prior.

“The major takeaway of this report is that underinvestment in the nation’s public health system, and attacks on its authority, have had deadly consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Action and investment are urgently needed. This report’s findings can help federal and state officials identify gaps in public health preparedness and the steps needed to better protect lives and the economy during the next health emergency,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

The report measured states’ performance during a year that presented intense demands on the nation’s public health system. In addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 saw record heat in many places, extensive flooding, wildfires throughout the Western U.S., a highly active hurricane season, and unusual and deadly December tornados in eight states. At the same time, hundreds of public health officials having experienced burn-out, threats to their safety, and attempts to limit their public health authorities have resigned, retired, or been fired.

While critical progress was made in fighting COVID-19 during 2021, particularly through the widespread availability of vaccines and a more coordinated federal response, the pandemic continued to illuminate the ways in which health inequities put communities of color and low-income communities at heightened risk for worse health outcomes during an emergency.

“Social, economic, and health inequities undermine a community’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a public health emergency. If we enter the next public health crisis with the same magnitude of health inequities in our communities as has been evident during this pandemic, the impact will be similar: preventable loss of life, disproportionate impact on communities of color and low-income communities, and widespread social and economic disruption.  It is impossible to separate strong public health emergency preparedness and health equity,” said Dr. Gracia.

Among the report’s policy recommendations:

  • Congress and states should provide stable, flexible, and sufficient funding for public health, including for infrastructure, data systems, and the public health workforce.
  • Congress should create a COVID-19 Commission to review and address gaps in the pandemic response, and leaders at all levels of government should reject attempts to weaken public health authorities.
  • Policymakers should take steps to prevent disease outbreaks by investing in vaccination infrastructure, antibiotic resistance programs, and by providing paid leave for all workers.
  • Congress should create programs to help build resilient communities by investing in health equity and the social determinants of health, including anti-poverty programs and programs that build financial security for families.
  • Congress should invest in the development and distribution of medical countermeasures to enable rapid development and effective deployment of life-saving products during emergencies and federal and state policymakers and healthcare systems leaders should work together to prioritize effective coordination and communication during emergencies.
  • The White House, Congress, and states should develop plans and provide funding to minimize the health impacts of climate change and do so in ways that address health equity.

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.  Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

TFAH Applauds USDA’s Announcement of New Standards Improving Nutrition in School Meals

Actions will Help Address Youth Obesity Crisis

(Washington, DC – February 7, 2022) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement that the agency will update school meal nutrition standards will help ensure more nutritious school meals for millions of children and adolescents and is an important step toward reversing the nation’s alarming rates of childhood obesity.

The Department announced a stepwise approach, beginning in the next school year. Among the most critical changes are:

  • Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, requiring that schools and child-care providers serving children ages six and older offer low-fat, flavored milk, nonfat flavored milk, or nonfat or low-fat unflavored milk.
  • Requiring that 80 percent of the grains served in school meals each week are rich in whole grains, beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
  • Requiring a 10 percent decrease in weekly sodium levels in school meals starting with the 2023-2024 school year.
  • Beginning the process for more permanent nutrition standards for the 2024-2025 school year.

Importantly, these changes will return nutritional standards for school meals to 2012 levels, which have been found to have dramatically increased the quality of students’ nutrition.

Rising obesity rates are a serious problem among children and adolescents nationwide. According to the latest available data, nearly 20 percent (19.3 percent) of U.S. children ages 2 to 19 have obesity. These data more than tripled since the mid-1970s and Black and Latino youth have substantially higher rates of obesity than do their white peers. The racial and ethnic disparities in obesity underscore the need to address social determinants of health, including food insecurity, access to healthy and nutritious foods, poverty, and other systemic barriers to health.

“These changes in school meal nutrition standards are an important step toward addressing America’s childhood obesity crisis. Millions of U.S. children get a significant proportion of their daily food intake via meals served in school. Evidence shows that ensuring that those meals are high in nutritional value will improve children’s health and help with their school performance and readiness to learn,” said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

Learn more about adult and childhood obesity trends and policies to address the obesity crisis in TFAH’s 2021 State of Obesity Report: Better Policies for a Healthier America.

Trust for America’s Health Statement in Recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, 2022

Trust for America’s Health’s (TFAH) Board Chair, Gail Christopher, D.N., and President and CEO, J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, released the following statement in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing.

(Washington, D.C. – January 17, 2022)

“Today’s observation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and tomorrow’s National Day of Racial Healing is a time to take action on the work that needs to be done to end racism, heal the impacts of centuries of racial injustice, and promote equity for all people.

Structural racism has far-reaching impacts on people’s health, education, employment and economic opportunities, access to safe and affordable housing, access to transportation, access to high quality healthcare, and their treatment within the criminal justice system.

Our goal is to advance policies and actions that will create meaningful change, including addressing social inequities and promoting racial healing. Dismantling racism is a public health imperative. The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic within communities of color is the most current example of the ways in which structural racism continues to have consequential and often tragic impacts on people’s lives.

TFAH is committed to continuing its work to advocate for policies that overcome the impacts of racism and advance health equity. Meaningful change will require racial healing which will in turn necessitate acknowledging the historic and contemporary impacts of racism, reframing the narrative, and building relationships across communities.”

TFAH calls for the following actions to reverse the impact of structural racism in America:

  • Make advancing health equity and eliminating health disparities a national priority. Such a priority requires ending systemic barriers and advancing policies and programs that create equitable opportunity for health and well-being.
  • Target the elimination of poverty by increasing the minimum wage and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit at the national and state levels.
  • Increase funding for programs that address health inequities, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) and Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country programs.
  • Recruit and sustain a diverse public health workforce through public health workforce loan repayment and support the hiring of public health equity experts through investments in public health infrastructure and workforce.
  • Increase access to high-quality healthcare for all by strengthening incentives to expand Medicaid in all states and by making marketplace coverage more affordable for low-and moderate-income people.
  • Create a national standard mandating job-protected paid family and medical leave for all employees.
  • Increase funding for programs that promote long-term security and good health for children and families, including programs designed to expand access to affordable housing and Head Start, Early Head Start, and nutrition support programs such as Healthy School Meals for All, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
  • Funding agencies should meaningfully engage with historically underserved communities to best understand their needs and work with community leaders to co-lead teams that establish, lead, and evaluate programs.
  • Federal and state governments should act to protect voting rights for all.

For more information about these and other policy recommendations see TFAH reports A Blueprint for the 2021 Administration and Congress – The Promise of Good Health for All: Transforming Public Health in America. And Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity

 

 

Next Iteration of the Build Back Better Act Should Include Critical Investments in Public Health, Emergency Preparedness, and the Social Determinants of Health

(January 10, 2022) — As the 117th Congress begins its work in 2022, it is critical that it seeks to bolster the nation’s public health system and address longstanding inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country continues to grapple with the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, Congress has the opportunity to make urgent investments in core public health infrastructure, to modernize national, state and local public health laboratory systems, and to direct much needed resources to address current and longstanding public health challenges. As Congress considers the next steps for the Build Back Better Act, TFAH recommends that the following policies be prioritized as negotiations move forward:

  • Investing in chronically underfunded public health infrastructure to address the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that public health is better equipped to effectively respond to future health threats. The pandemic exposed the impact of outdated, understaffed health departments. The Build Back Better Act includes $8.4 billion in funding to enable health departments to address longstanding infrastructure and workforce gaps and modernize public health data systems and laboratories across the country. TFAH recommends an additional $4.5 billion annual investment to support and sustain federal, state, local, territorial, and Tribal foundational public health capabilities.
  • Expanding availability of nutritious foods to ensure children, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can access high-quality, nutritious meals when school is in session and during school closures. The Build Back Better Act includes provisions to expand the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), invest in a Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program, and establish a Healthy Food Incentives Demonstration to support schools in developing healthy food offerings. TFAH also recommends extending Healthy School Meals for All, which provides students access to school meals at no charge regardless of their family income as a step to ending child hunger and ensuring access to healthy foods.
  • Increasing access to life-saving behavioral health programs. The Build Back Better Act includes $2.5 billion in funding to support public health approaches to reduce community violence and trauma, $75 million to support the infrastructure of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and $15 million to support the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Project Aware program, which helps schools promote the mental health of their students. TFAH recommends focusing on primary prevention of behavioral health concerns, including through suicide and Adverse Childhood Experiences prevention and increasing investments in social-emotional learning and wellness in schools.
  • Investing in early childhood education and services to ensure families have access to high-quality childcare and early education. The Build Back Better Act includes $400 billion to establish a birth-through-five childcare and early learning entitlement program, bolster Head Start, create a universal preschool program, and significantly strengthen the early childhood education workforce through training and increased pay.
  • Establishing a comprehensive paid family and medical leave policy to ensure workers can take time off to address health or caregiving needs. The Build Back Better Act includes provisions that grew out of the FAMILY Act and would provide up to 12 weeks of partial income while employees take family or medical leave. Access to paid family and medical leave can help control disease outbreaks, improve parental and child health, and contribute to a healthier, more productive workforce.
  • Increasing access to safe and affordable housing to address housing insecurity amongst low-income families. Stable and healthy housing is a significant social determinant of health. The Build Back Better Act includes $24 billion for new Housing Choice Vouchers and supportive services, $5 billion to address lead paint and other health hazards, $15 billion to support the preservation and creation of rental homes for low-income households, and $500 million to expand the supply of affordable housing with supportive services for older adults.

TFAH Applauds Introduction of the Protecting the Health of America’s Older Adults Act

(Washington, DC – December 16) – Trust for America’s Health, a non-partisan, nonprofit public health policy, research and advocacy organization, applauds the introduction of the bipartisan Protecting the Health of America’s Older Adults Act by Representatives Lois Frankel (CA-44), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and Debbie Dingell (MI-12). The bill would enable state and local public health departments to better meet the needs of older adults via innovative new strategies.

If enacted, the bill would create a Healthy Aging grant program at CDC to provide grants to health departments to help states and local communities coordinate multi-sector efforts to promote the health of older adults and develop aging expertise. The grant program would allow state and local health departments to apply an aging lens to all of their work, including efforts to reduce healthcare costs and improve health equity. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of public health’s role in the aging sector, and this new program will help ensure that health departments have the resources they need to make a meaningful impact for seniors.

The President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, congratulates Representatives Frankel, Bilirakis, and Dingell on the introduction of the bill, stating:

“The last year underscored how important it is for public health to be at the table when it comes to promoting the health of older adults. Health departments have been critical to addressing the needs of older adults during the pandemic; their active engagement in many other issues faced by the aging population, including transportation and housing access, chronic disease, and mental health, will promote better aging outcomes and benefit our entire society. This new grant program would be a step in the right direction to ensure that state and local health departments have the resources to do exactly that.”

In addition to TFAH, original endorsing organizations include:

  • Alliance for Aging Research
  • American Association on Health and Disability
  • American Lung Association
  • American Muslim Health Professionals
  • American Public Health Association
  • American Psychological Association
  • Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
  • Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
  • Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Authority Health
  • Catholic Health Association of the United States
  • Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE)
  • Ceres Community Project
  • Christian Council of Delmarva
  • Coalition of National Health Education Organizations
  • Common Threads
  • Elder Options
  • Equality California
  • FLIPANY
  • Florida Public Health Association
  • The Gerontological Society of America
  • Hartsfield Health Systems Consulting, LLC
  • Lakeshore Foundation
  • Long Beach Gray Panthers
  • Maine Council on Aging
  • Maine Public Health Association
  • Mel Leaman Free Clinic
  • MindWise Innovations
  • National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs
  • National Network of Public Health Institutes
  • National Recreation and Park Association
  • National Senior Games Association
  • Peggy Lillis Foundation
  • The Praxis Project
  • Prevent Blindness
  • Silver State Equality-Nevada
  • Society for Public Health Education
  • Society for Women’s Health Research
  • Tennessee Justice Center
  • Urban Health Partnerships
  • Valley AIDS Council
  • WARM, Inc.
  • Washington State Public Health Association
  • We All Rise

TFAH has prepared a fact sheet on the legislation.

 

Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust Applaud the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Youth Mental Health

The challenges to our children’s mental health were many before COVID-19 and made worse by the pandemic – immediate action is needed

(December 7, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust strongly applaud U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s Advisory on Youth Mental Health released today.

“We applaud the Surgeon General for not only drawing more attention to the issue of youth mental health, but reminding us that this problem, significant before COVID-19, has been negatively impacted during, and could only get worse after the pandemic without robust action,” said Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, President of Well Being Trust.  “By proactively addressing mental health, including bringing care to where people are, we are more likely to meet the moment in a way that can help countless young people and their families.”

The Surgeon General’s advisory calls for “a swift and coordinated response” to the nation’s youth mental health crisis and demonstrates the need for all sectors of society to be part of the solution with recommendations for what individuals, families, community organizations, technology companies and government can do to improve and protect young people’s mental health.

“One of the strengths of this advisory is that it recognizes that in order to support young people’s mental health we need to address the social and economic conditions in their lives with multisector initiatives, said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “Where a child lives, where they go to school, their family’s access to employment and safe housing all impact their mental health.”

TFAH and WBT’s Pain in the Nation series has tracked the nation’s deaths of despair since 2017 including the escalating youth mental health crisis. Its report Addressing a Crisis: Cross-Sector Strategies to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use and Suicide. makes recommendations for cross sector action.

 

# # #

 

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community well-being. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust