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All in Adams--Introducing ACHD's New Medical Officer and Nursing Director
27 Plays30 days ago
In this episode of All in Adams, Medical Officer Dr. Wendy Bamberg and newly appointed Nursing Director Valencia Bautista introduce themselves and talk about the future of public health in Adams County.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'All In Adams' Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to All In Adams, the official podcast of Adams County Government, where we're all in for our residents, our employees, and our community. So whether you live here, work here, or you just want to know more about what makes Adams County a great place to be, thanks for tuning in. We're all in, Adams.
Meet Dr. Wendy Bamberg and Valencia Bautista
00:00:22
Speaker
Hello and welcome to another episode of All in Adams. I'm Jennifer Lucero Alvarez, Strategic Communications Manager for the Adams County Health Department. And I'm so excited to introduce to you today two individuals, members of our leadership team, who play an instrumental role in providing you the most accurate and up-to-date health information to help you keep you and your family, as well as everyone in Adams County, safe.
00:00:52
Speaker
um First is Dr.
Dr. Bamberg's Public Health Journey
00:00:54
Speaker
Wendy Bamberg, our medical officer who joined us a couple months ago, and Valencia Bautista, who has been with us since we opened our doors in 2023, but has recently been named our new dirt nursing director. And we're so excited for that. and we're so And so thank you so much for you both being here today.
00:01:15
Speaker
um that Dr. Bamberg, I'll start with you. But before we get into the work, um why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you were before you joined Adams County, and what drew you to public health, especially here in this county?
00:01:31
Speaker
Yeah, so I've worked in governmental public health for about 20 years now, and I've been at the local level like Adams County or at the state level for most of my career. so I most recently came from the state health department here in Colorado.
00:01:46
Speaker
um And just prior to that, I was in Melbourne, Australia, working at a local agency similar to Adams. ah That was during the kind of the height of COVID-19. But overall, I've i've been in in governmental public health for, like I said, a couple of decades.
00:02:02
Speaker
So originally, i got into public health ah because i was post-medical school and in training for internal medicine, which is like adult medicine and infectious diseases. And during that training, I had a mentor who was able to get me a rotation at the public health department where I was where I was doing my training and I absolutely loved it. There was an outbreak of listeria that was going on that was eventually tied to turkey deli meat.
00:02:34
Speaker
And listeria is something that can make you really sick. And ah and and so there was a lot of of emphasis on kind of trying to find the source. And I was working with a couple of people there who were doing this training program through the CDC.
00:02:49
Speaker
ah called the Epidemic Intelligence Service. so it's like disease detectives. um Think like Kate Winslet in Contagion, and that her her role was actually based on the Epidemic Intelligence Service. And I thought, this is really cool. I really want to do this.
00:03:03
Speaker
So I was lucky enough to be able to do that training. And I've been in public health ever
Valencia's Role in Adams County Health Department
00:03:07
Speaker
since. And I've loved every minute of it. um As far as coming to Adams, I'm really excited actually to come to Adams because I grew up in unincorporated Boulder County.
00:03:16
Speaker
So for me, this is like coming home. and I've always loved working at the local level because I really like working with communities and the local level. Public health really gives you an opportunity to do that. so I'm very excited to here.
00:03:30
Speaker
Great. Thank you. And Valencia, ah you've been with ACHD since we first opened our doors um over three years ago. I can't even believe it by now. um Now you're managing our largest public facing division. What does that journey look like for you, and both professionally and personally?
00:03:49
Speaker
Yeah, being part of Adams County Health Department's journey since the beginning has been incredibly meaningful. i started with the health department when we were only about three months old.
00:04:00
Speaker
And opportunities to help build an entirely new health department from the ground up were incredibly rare. So that was something that was initially um really inspiring and motivating for me.
00:04:11
Speaker
um Before being at the health department here, I was working at another local public health agency out of state, managing um and overseeing our clinical spaces and navigating through the challenges of the COVID pandemic. um So professionally, that period brought a lot of new experiences all at one time. and So in many ways, my public health career really has been defined by leading and navigating in all of these new spaces, which I feel really set me up well.
00:04:40
Speaker
um So when the opportunity to join Adams County came along, I was really excited about the opportunity and really energized just because of those past experiences that I had.
00:04:50
Speaker
And so now stepping into the director position is really humbling, but also very exciting. I've been working with this team alongside them for over three years
What is Public Health?
00:05:00
Speaker
now. So we've been growing um and building the foundation of this organization together.
00:05:06
Speaker
And um I know that the nursing division is a highly visible division to our community and our partners that we work with, which comes with a certain level of responsibility that I feel like I'm prepared to take on, yeah, because of those past experiences. I'm really proud of what the team and um has done and and what we've done together and excited to continue that.
00:05:27
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. And have I mentioned recently how excited we are that you're in this role? Not. We really are. um Back to you, Dr. Bamberg.
00:05:38
Speaker
um A lot of hear of people hear health department and think vaccines or restaurant inspections, and we do that. um But it's so much broader than that. And for someone who's never really thought of it before, how would you describe the public ah what public health is and why it matters every day?
00:05:58
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. So where a um a provider like a doctor or a nurse might treat an individual person, public health is really looking at the health of a community. And so a community may be a county, it may be a state, it might be um a city or even even more local than that.
00:06:17
Speaker
And so i would i would describe public health as being like the foundation of a building. So if you think about that foundation, You really want a very strong foundation in order to be able to um achieve your best health possible. And so that foundation are things like ah having economic stability, having housing, being able to get an education. All of those things are a foundation for health. And so public health also works to address all of those things. So think things like food security or safe air and safe water. Those are the foundation of public health.
Addressing Community Needs in Adams County
00:06:59
Speaker
And so um in addition to vaccines and restaurant inspections and outbreaks, really that foundation of public health is is really instrumental. And so we here at Adams work on all of those things so that we can support our community in the best way possible so that they can achieve their best health.
00:07:15
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you for that. Valencia, building on that, um you've been working closely with the Adams County residents for a while. ah What have those interactions taught you about what people need from their local health department?
00:07:30
Speaker
um What surprises them most about the kind of support we provide? um I think what surprises people the most is like what Wendy had just finished saying. and Like we work on a lot of behind the scenes and a lot of those systems and things, but really working alongside this community um for the last several years and these experiences have really revealed just um A lot of different things, but mostly for me, what's coming up is one that this community needs us to know what and what they're going through, what they're facing and really truly understand them and what their need is. One, and then two, be able to respond and provide information. tangible and meaningful support for them.
00:08:14
Speaker
um Yeah, like we're public health professionals and, you know, but when we work with our residents, we do our very best to try and step into their shoes and, you know, the navigating paperwork, all of the barriers, wait times, just like knowing where to start with a lot of things.
00:08:29
Speaker
um And largely a lot of us have lived this as well. So we really do get it um And I think that's really important. and So we may not be able to solve every problem or have the resources or tools for for every single thing, but um working with our community and making a plan with them, following up and um showing them that we genuinely care about that outcome. That's something that people can see. That's something people feel. um Yeah. So public health, it's it's what we do together. and to Wendy's point.
00:09:01
Speaker
Um, so just navigating those problems with our community alongside them and, um, meeting people where they're at and going to where they need us. Um,
00:09:13
Speaker
Sorry, my voice is going out.
The Fragility and Resilience of Public Health
00:09:16
Speaker
um But yeah, i going to where people really need us and trying to help address and reduce those barriers that we know exist, using our voices and our positions in public health to um advocate for changes that we know will make life a little bit easier for all of us.
00:09:33
Speaker
Great. Thank you. Dr. Van Berg. Public health is always changing. um But at this moment in time, how would you describe the state of public health?
00:09:44
Speaker
What are the pressing issues you see? And what gives you hope Yeah, so I think the two words that come to my mind for this are both fragile and resilient.
00:09:56
Speaker
So I say fragile, public health is at the moment a little bit like Jenga. So that's the the game with the wooden blocks where you pull out the bottom one and you stack it on top and the tower becomes more and more wobbly.
00:10:08
Speaker
And I say that because um public health has had a bit of a rough time. um We all went through the trauma of COVID together, um but public health definitely, um there was some erosion of trust between the public and public health. And that's obviously, as I said before, like we all work together, right, as a community. to build that health of the community, public health works with those communities. And so that loss of trust is is really tough. And I think that public health is working really hard in order to gain that trust back.
00:10:40
Speaker
um Additionally, each one of those pieces of that Jenga analogy, right, changing. a staff member who has a lot of experience or a certain program that has certain funding. And as we've seen, a lot of those things have, uh, have eroded, um in the the more recent past, especially with COVID and, and other factors as well. And so, um, that's why I say fragile, but the resilient part is really about, um the strong community, right? Like we all want the same thing. We all want a healthy,
00:11:12
Speaker
stable community. And so we're all working on that together. And that really gives me hope. I work with some amazing people. I'm super happy to be working with Valencia now um and, and amazing people at Adams County and across the public health network, which includes the state health department,
00:11:29
Speaker
and ah public health folks at the federal level as well. And we're all working towards the same thing. We're just lucky enough to get to work in Adams County and work with our wonderful community um so that we can really, again, all achieve our best health.
Opportunities for Growth in Public Health
00:11:44
Speaker
Great. you know Valencia, what opportunities do you see for um the Adams County Health Department? I think that we're still yeah young enough as an organization to be really innovative and intentional on how we choose to grow. and I think there's a lot of opportunity in continuing to build on a lot of the work we've done to be really community led and have that community led approach to our public health.
00:12:08
Speaker
and Public health, we know works best when um our community feels really connected to it, can see themselves reflected in the work that we're doing and know that their voices are actually shaping decisions and and the work that we're doing. So that means us continuing to meet our community where they're at, making our services more accessible and responsive, but taking that a step further and creating intentional opportunities for our community to not just participate, but to lead community. and to influence our priorities and help guide the work that we're doing in the county. And then another opportunity is just internally um the collaboration happening across our divisions and then as well as the collaboration happening with our community partners. Some of the most impactful work that we can do in public health is when we bring together different perspectives, different resources and talents um and expertise around a shared issue that's important to all of us.
00:13:05
Speaker
And Adams County Health Department has a really strong foundation of people who are really passionate about this work. And I think that that positions as well to continue building a public health system that's really driven by the strengths, the expertise, and the leadership within the community itself.
00:13:20
Speaker
Absolutely. We couldn't do what we do without those partnerships and without the community weighing in as well. We bring in a lot of community members to um and focus groups and
The Broad Role of Public Health
00:13:30
Speaker
things like that. So we are ensuring that we are getting those voices um um heard in consideration of all the things that we do for the community. So thanks for for mentioning that.
00:13:43
Speaker
Dr. Bamberg, public health isn't just vaccines, sexual health, and direct services any longer. um How has it grown, and what direction do you see the role of public health taking in the future, especially here in Adams County?
00:13:58
Speaker
Yeah, so things like vaccines, um sexual health, response to outbreaks, all of those things are are things that I think the community is is pretty familiar with is the as the face of public health.
00:14:11
Speaker
But um as we mentioned, it's a lot it's a lot broader than that. And so things like safe air and safe water, um are are really important to the health of communities. In addition, we've got programs here at Adams County that address things like food access, and we have a behavioral health program, as well as ah folks who address housing stability and access to health care. And so all of these things are really important to the public health of our community.
00:14:40
Speaker
um the do you The health of any individual really is not just about physical health, right? It's physical health, it's emotional health, it's social health, right? Those relationships that we develop, it's spiritual health. All of those things contribute to our health and public health has a role to help support the community in all of these things so that everyone has the opportunity to have that best health that they possibly can.
00:15:07
Speaker
So that's really where I see us going as ah as a public health community, but also in Adams County. um Again, working with communities, having the communities help us figure out where those priorities are, or it's super critical.
00:15:22
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. And thank you for mentioning all of those things that people can access, all the resources, excuse me, the programs um that people probably had no idea that we do.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:15:35
Speaker
So in wrapping up, um immunizations, access to food, mental health resources, housing stability. There's so many ways that Adams County Health Department can help support you and your family because ultimately it's you, it's us together for a healthier Adams County.
00:15:56
Speaker
To learn more about our services, ah visit our website at www.adamscountyhealthdepartment.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
00:16:08
Speaker
um Until next time. Thanks, Adams County. That's a wrap for this episode of All In Adams. Thank you for joining us as we explore the people, programs, and the policies that make Adams County a great place to live, work, and thrive.
00:16:24
Speaker
If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know. We're all in for bringing you the stories that matter most.
00:16:35
Speaker
Until next time, take care of each other and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and X. We're all in, Adams, and we're all in for you.