Take a look 👀at this thread 👇🏾 to read excerpts my opening remarks at the @sodexoUSA virtual conference on building resilient businesses & communities! #CommunityHealth
(2/9) “We weren’t in the best of shape going into the pandemic. We had high rates of obesity & diabetes, high rates of poverty & income inequality, & though we had low unemployment & a robust economy, not everyone was benefiting…”
(3/9) “When the pandemic hit, it made things that much harder, especially for people who were not thriving to begin with. We need to figure out how to come back stronger from the pandemic and thrive together.” #SDOH#equity#PostCOVID
(4/9) “That’s the key when we talk about how to build resilient businesses and communities: together. It’s working together, each doing our part, and lifting everyone up.” #ConquerCOVID19#equity
(5/9) “#COVID19 revealed in a particularly stark way just how interdependent health & the economy are. Both need to be strong if either one is to thrive.” #StrongerTogether#CommunityHealth
(6/9) “We need an economy that works for every1 & we need communities that support the building blocks of health, like humane housing, quality ed., reliable transportation & a thriving natural world, meaningful work & that sense of belonging”
(7/9) “We depend on each other. Businesses depend on strong, healthy communities & we depend on businesses to create jobs, wealth & new ideas.”
(8/9) “There are lots of ways for businesses to engage w/ & invest in communities to make them stronger & healthier & there are lots of reasons for businesses to do this –“ #CommunityHealth#SocialResponsibility
NEW: Today, I’m releasing a Surgeon General’s Advisory on the causal link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. Alcohol is the 3rd leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., contributing to about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year.
Consuming any type of alcohol – beer, wine, or spirits – increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, including cancers of the breast for women, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat, and voice box (larynx).
Higher alcohol consumption increases alcohol-related cancer risk, yet only 45% of American adults are aware that consuming alcohol increases their risk of developing cancer.
NEW: As a father of two young children, I know the joys of parenting—but I also know the stress, loneliness, & uncertainty of parenting in a rapidly changing world. Today, I issued a Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents surgeongeneral.gov/parents
Raising children has always been a rewarding but stressful job. In addition to the expected challenges parents & caregivers face, like keeping kids safe and healthy and navigating finances, there are a host of new stressors.
Managing technology and social media, a youth mental health crisis, an epidemic of loneliness, financial worries, and an intensifying culture of achievement and practice of time-intensive parenting can all contribute to the stress parents and caregivers face.
NEW: Today, for the first time in the history of our office, I am issuing a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence. Firearm violence is a public health crisis in America that poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of our country. 1/10 Surgeongeneral.gov/firearm-violen…
A staggering 54% of adults report that they or a family member have experienced a firearm-related incident (been personally threatened with or injured by a firearm, lost a family member, witnessed a shooting, or shot a firearm in self-defense). 2/10
What is especially devastating is how this has affected our kids. Firearm violence is now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents—more than car accidents or drug overdoses. 3/10
NEW: Today, I released a Surgeon General's Advisory on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation facing our country, the destructive impacts it has on our collective health, and the extraordinary healing power of our relationships. Surgeongeneral.gov/loneliness#Connect2Heal 1/8
At the height of the #COVID19 pandemic, we gained a greater appreciation for how crucial relationships are to our well-being. The pandemic led to greater loneliness for many, but there was widespread social disconnection even before #COVID19. 2/8
Loneliness and social disconnection are more common than we realize. In recent years, about one in two adults reported experiencing loneliness. It's also more widespread than many other health issues including smoking, diabetes, and obesity. 3/8
I'm grateful to @VP Kamala Harris for joining me today at @ChildrensNatl hospital to thank the staff for their heroic work and to announce my new Surgeon General’s Advisory on a growing threat to the nation’s health: health worker burnout. 1/7
Health workers nationwide have long grappled with systemic challenges that have driven burnout to record levels—from excessive workloads to physical/verbal abuse to poor access to mental health care. 2/7
.@VP Harris and I heard from health workers in a range of positions how the last 2+ years of the pandemic only exacerbated those challenges. 3/7
NEW: Today, I released a Surgeon General’s Advisory calling the nation to address a growing threat to our individual and collective health: health worker burnout. Health workers have long had our back—it’s time for us to have theirs. surgeongeneral.gov/burnout 1/6
Over the past 2+ years, health workers have been on the frontlines of the #COVID19 pandemic, where they not only saved lives, but in too many cases, sacrificed their own health and the health of their families as they served others. 2/6
The stakes are high. If not addressed, the health worker burnout crisis will make it harder for patients to get care when they need it, cause health costs to rise, hinder our ability to prepare for the next public health emergency, and worsen health disparities. 3/6