There are many conflicting theories about how COVID-19 came to be a global threat, but according to Government Affairs Senior Specialist for the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Ian Goldstein, this massive-scale outbreak could have been entirely prevented if public health was properly funded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen public health is doing its job, all is quiet,\u201d <\/span><\/i>said Goldstein. <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t hear about public health until its not functioning properly. That\u2019s the very mission of NACCHO. We are a non-profit organization aimed to improve the health of communities by strengthening and advocating for health departments <\/span><\/i>before a crisis exists<\/span>. My role is to elevate and raise the visibility of local health departments at the federal level. Public health is not being funded the way it needs to be, and it hasn\u2019t been funded in that way for a very long time. So, what we\u2019re seeing today is the nation\u2019s reaction to a crisis that was preventable and foreseeable. Now, we\u2019re playing catch-up, and it\u2019s terrifying. That\u2019s why the podcast is so valuable.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe podcast is a great way to get the message out to our core audience of public health professionals. These are people who work in local and state health departments. The information we present is tailored to the local health departments as we routinely highlight our members. There\u2019s a saying in public health\u2014<\/span><\/i>‘If you\u2019ve seen one local health department, you\u2019ve seen one local health department.\u2019 <\/span>In other words, every health department is completely different. One health department may deal with the effects of a hurricane while another deals with floods. So, we interview local health officials to see how they deal with preparedness in their region.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Goldstein\u2019s love of hosting the podcast comes from his appreciation of music, the radio, and journalism. He has worked for NACCHO for the past decade. He has taught guest lectures on health policy at American University and Johns Hopkins University. <\/span>The NACCHO Podcast Series<\/span><\/i> has been recognized as a Top 30 Public Health Podcast in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goldstein has a degree in Journalism from Towson University and a master\u2019s degree in Legal and Ethical Studies from the University of Baltimore. He is also the owner of Brothers Music located in Baltimore City, which opened its doors in 2015.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Goldstein was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Maryland. He has been married to his wife Jenny for three years, and they have a two-year-old daughter, Judy. In his spare time, he loves to play the guitar. His favorite types of music are rock, indie rock, and alternative. There was a picture of a yellow submarine on his wall as we spoke, which he says is an homage to his favorite band, The Beatles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though Goldstein is Caucasian, he has always loved and been fascinated by Black History and racial justice. His music store is in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Baltimore. In addition, he recalls growing up and seeing books like <\/span>Roots<\/span><\/i> on the shelf, which he read and loved. He next delved into another Alex Haley book, <\/span>The Autobiography of Malcolm X<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The New Jim Crow<\/span><\/i> by Michelle Alexander which discusses mass incarceration. <\/span>\u201cI have always had a strong sense for social justice and health equity. I love to talk about these issues. Sometimes, it makes people uncomfortable, but I think that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best professional advice he\u2019s ever gotten was from a former colleague who said, <\/span>\u201dIf you\u2019re not at the table, you\u2019re on the menu.\u201d <\/span><\/i>He shared another piece of funny advice he received from his dad about gambling: <\/span>\u201cNever bet on anything that talks.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI take that to mean that if it can talk, it can be manipulated, so beware,\u201d<\/span><\/i> he said.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Goldstein is inspired by his wife and daughter and by all the amazing people working in public health, especially now. Many public health professionals have not taken a day off work since the pandemic began. They routinely work six or seven days a week and more than eight hours a day. These brave men and women need to be saluted for their hard work and dedication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy immediate team that I work with gets me fired up every day to advocate and fight for health equity and social justice. We are proud to represent local health departments.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

December 2020 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are many conflicting theories about how COVID-19 came to be a global threat, but according to Government Affairs Senior Specialist for the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Ian Goldstein, this massive-scale outbreak could have been entirely prevented if public health was properly funded. \u201cWhen public health is doing its job, all is quiet,\u201d said Goldstein. \u201cYou don\u2019t hear about public health until its not functioning properly. That\u2019s the very mission of NACCHO. We are a non-profit organization aimed to improve the health of communities by strengthening and advocating for health departments before a crisis exists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[418,1240,1242,1239,1238,1241],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n