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 Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, Director of Health of the RI Department of Health, spoke about the Department’s goals and strategies. The goal is to “Positively demonstrate for Rhode Islanders the purpose and importance of public health.”
They are working on determining ways to retrieve health data on RI’s different populations with a goal of achieving health equity. She spoke about balancing spending on healthcare and social services in order to achieve a healthier population as other countries have done.
Strategies to promote healthy living for all through the various stages of life include: ensuring access to safe water and healthy environments; promoting a comprehensive health system that people can easily have access to, navigate and afford; preventing, controlling, and eliminating health hazards and emergency threats; and analyzing and communicating data to improve public health.
During the Q&A she spoke about the Zika virus and the fact that it is an important concern for women of childbearing age and that RI is concerned about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry in general; she discussed the future, or not, of free standing emergency rooms; and the fact that Lyme Disease is a critical issue in RI, especially in South County which is more significantly impacted, and the need to establish a Lyme Disease Strategy.
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