by Sally James
The brand new director of Public Well being – Seattle and King County is Faisal Khan, MD, who started his function in September 2022. Khan has a direct communication model, and one in every of his messages to the general public is that the reduce of federal funding for COVID -19 reduction efforts will imply buckled down on all types of labor the general public well being division does, from homelessness to HIV prevention.
Federal cash despatched as emergency funds for COVID-19 work ended on December 31. With out giving particulars or greenback quantities, Khan mentioned the tip of these funds means widespread ache for his group.
“We have now been sustained and supported by federal emergency funds. Now all of that’s gone and can cease utterly beginning December 31st. [2022] … All of the constructions, processes and neighborhood relationships that we have now established should be dismantled or massively decreased,” Khan mentioned throughout a cellphone interview with the Emerald.
Khan identifies as an American from Pakistan and immigrated to the US after medical college. The 48-year-old was most just lately performing director of the St. Louis County Division of Public Well being. In that function, he clashed with politicians in a public brawl as a result of they did not need a masks mandate; he additionally denounced what he known as “racist” behaviour, after folks at a county council listening to threatened and ridiculed him.
Khan says that till he moved to the US, he did not really feel the necessity to label himself.
“It is attention-grabbing while you land on these shores, they virtually power you to examine one field out of 5 – 6,” he defined. “I all the time thought-about myself a physician from Pakistan earlier than I landed within the US. Right here, examine the Asian field, after which the South Asian and non-Hispanic field, and so on.”
He stop his job in St. Louis and got here to Seattle as a result of, in his personal phrases, “I regarded for a spot that actually values healthcare and public well being.”
Right here in Seattle, Khan heads a company with about 1,400 staff, 40 websites and a biennial price range of $686 million, in response to the company’s web site. It is likely one of the largest metropolitan well being departments within the nation.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a frightening problem because it started, stays a problem. You might be dissatisfied by the low proportion of King County residents who acquired their most up-to-date bivalent booster vaccine for COVID-19. General, county information exhibits that roughly 28% of county residents are “updated” on their COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Khan warns us to remain alert.
“It is a difficult section of the pandemic that we discover ourselves in,” he mentioned. “Folks have roughly put the pandemic within the rear view mirror with out realizing that they’re nonetheless weak.”
In November, some hospitals reported a rise in sufferers, together with folks with three completely different viruses. These embody COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV). The rise of three viruses was known as tripledemia. That seems to be declining in King County. The county just lately reported 14 hospitalizations per day for COVID-19, however the dashboard cautioned that climate and holidays are delaying the information. General, each the flu and RSV infections have decreased throughout the nation.
“These declining case charges are excellent news, however this doesn’t imply we’re secure. We have now but to see the influence trip journey and gatherings might have on these charges,” he warned in an e-mail on Tuesday, January three. “We’re additionally intently watching modifications in COVID-19 variants and influenza viral sorts that might result in one other spike in instances. Lastly, whereas the variety of hospital visits for these respiratory diseases has decreased just lately, hospitals proceed to be confused attributable to capability challenges.”
Khan hopes his company can focus extra on power illnesses than bouts of infections. One among them is what he calls diabesity, a mix of weight problems and diabetes. Nationwide, weight problems and sort 2 diabetes, which develops later in life, are a joint epidemic. Way of life and lack of entry to wholesome meals play a task. Communities with fewer secure areas to play exterior, for instance, have larger charges of weight problems, and communities with a excessive degree of poverty have fewer well being care choices that might assist stop diabetes problems.
With the price range disaster that Khan sees looming for his company, there will likely be troublesome conversations about the place to spend the restricted price range.
“There are days once I surprise if the one factor we discovered from the pandemic as a rustic is that we refuse to be taught from our errors and enhance,” he mentioned. “We’re again in the identical previous feast or famine cycle of public well being funding, and we’re again within the famine section. That may be very disappointing.”
sally james is a science author in Seattle. He can learn extra of his work at SeattleScienceWriter.com. She has written on biotechnology, most cancers analysis, and well being literacy and has volunteered as president of the nonprofit Northwest Science Writers Affiliation.
📸 Featured Picture: Faisal Khan, MD, has been the director of Public Well being for Seattle and King County since September 2022. (Picture courtesy of Public Well being for Seattle and King County.)
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