Agency performing despite its challenges
Employees of the Oklahoma State Department of Health have endured a number of challenges in recent months. As highlighted in the headlines, the public health system has been put under a microscope, with many seeing an agency that did not prevent a major financial crisis, leading to alleged mismanagement of public funds. In spite of the distractions, the staff continued its commitment, bearing the brunt of each new revelation but remaining focused on the mission to protect the health of Oklahomans.
This was evident in the response to a rare report of a measles case in Cleveland County. I first received a call from the department’s Acute Disease Service epidemiologist-on-call on a Sunday afternoon. The caller explained the confirmed measles case, and we quickly discussed the action required. I contacted county nursing staff, and arranged for several nurses to meet department epidemiologists at the Cleveland County Health Department in Norman.
By mid-afternoon, nurses and epidemiologists had joined forces making calls, taking inventory of supplies, narrowing the risk categories and organizing for a major response. Social media messages were distributed and traditional local media outlets were notified to help push a unified message to Oklahomans as to who was at risk, any steps that should be taken, and most importantly, what individuals could do to help protect themselves.
Temporarily the negative headlines about the Health Department were overshadowed by a perfect example of our employees doing exactly what they are trained to do, and demonstrating our competence. Over the next few days, more than 750 contacts were made, including extensive interviews and detailed questionnaires conducted, and the field of at-risk individuals narrowed for additional observation. The Cleveland County Health Department further demonstrated the close relationships with our community partners by working with the local health care system, business owners, private providers, and local childcare centers to have a unified response outside of our agency walls.
Staff from other service areas in the Cleveland County office rallied to aid in the response. From the first meeting of our incident command staff, our entire office was helping to make contact calls, answer phones, field questions and do whatever was needed to get the job done. No one complained about taking on responsibilities outside of their daily job duties.
There was no bureaucratic negotiation of responsibilities, no budget debate, no thought given to organizational or political boundaries. Instead, staff pulled together with the singular goal of protecting the public’s health. Every individual who was contacted by our response team was treated with respect, given accurate and appropriate information, and had their fears eased as much as possible. Despite being short-staffed, each person we talked to received customer service that was true to our agency mission.
So, while the headlines speak of financial challenges and our ranks are being reduced, please know there are many dedicated public health professionals in local county health departments working closely with the central office to ensure that we continue to protect the health of all Oklahomans.