63: Ohio: Pandemic Response and Public Health Lessons, with Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., Director, Ohio Department of Health

05/12/22 • 39 min

Meet Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D.:

Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D. is the Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Before his directorship, he was the department’s Chief Medical Officer. Prior to that, Dr. Vanderhoff served in a variety of roles at OhioHealth, including the Senior VP, Chief Medical Officer, and VP of Medical Education, Quality, and Patient Safety. He also practiced as a family medicine physician. Dr. Vanderhoff received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Franklin University.

Key Insights:

Dr. Vanderhoff dives into pandemic management and leadership lessons from a state government perspective.

Ohio’s Vax-a-Million. Dr. Vanderhoff described the design behind Ohio’s vaccine lottery. The goal was to incentivize people that were inclined to get the vaccine, but hadn’t done so yet. Two weeks after the program was announced, there was a 28% increase in the number of people getting vaccinated. (3:33)
Lessons for Public Health. Dr. Vanderhoff emphasized that we cannot predict all potential public health threats. However, we know that people who are healthy are better able to weather pandemics and other health challenges compared to people who are unhealthy. Thus, improving the overall health of people is a crucial part of preparation for future public health threats. (19:58)
Problem Solving Methodology. To achieve big goals, Dr. Vanderhoff recommends designing a plan that is iterative, that breaks down the problem into smaller steps. He also points to the importance of understanding lived experience. Seek out perspectives from workers on the frontlines before formulating solutions to their problems. (33:35)

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Meet Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D.:

Key Insights:

Dr. Vanderhoff dives into pandemic management and leadership lessons from a state government perspective.

Ohio’s Vax-a-Million. Dr. Vanderhoff described the design behind Ohio’s vaccine lottery. The goal was to incentivize people that were inclined to get the vaccine, but hadn’t done so yet. Two weeks after the program was announced, there was a 28% increase in the number of people getting vaccinated. (3:33)
Lessons for Public Health. Dr. Vanderhoff emphasized that we cannot predict all potential public health threats. However, we know that people who are healthy are better able to weather pandemics and other health challenges compared to people who are unhealthy. Thus, improving the overall health of people is a crucial part of preparation for future public health threats. (19:58)
Problem Solving Methodology. To achieve big goals, Dr. Vanderhoff recommends designing a plan that is iterative, that breaks down the problem into smaller steps. He also points to the importance of understanding lived experience. Seek out perspectives from workers on the frontlines before formulating solutions to their problems. (33:35)

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62: The Power of Regret, with Daniel Pink, Author, "The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward"

Meet Daniel Pink:

Daniel Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers aboutbusiness, work, creativity, and behavior. His latest is “The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward.” Daniel hosts a MasterClass on sales and persuasion, and he contributes to in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, and Slate. Previously, Daniel was the host and co-executive producer of the television show “Crowd Control.” Daniel received a B.A. from Northwestern University, and a JD from Yale Law School.

Key Insights:

Regret is a complex, but common negative emotion. It is uncomfortable, but when confronted, it can be transformative.

Transformational Regret. Reflecting on regret has been found to decrease cognitive biases, and improve skills related to problem solving, strategy, and negotiation. Daniel shares research that showed that participants who were asked to reflect on what they regretted about a previous negotiation exercise did better in the next negotiation. (12:05)
Four Categories of Regret. Through his research, Daniel found four core regrets. foundational regrets are about stability, often related to finances or health. Boldness regrets are about taking chances, like traveling or starting a business. Moral regrets are about doing the right thing. Lastly, connection regrets are related to the loss of relationships. The most common regrets are connection regrets. (17:08)
How Leaders Can Use Regret. Daniel encourages leaders to share their regrets and mistakes. It creates an opportunity for powerful conversations about what can be learned from regrets and how to prevent future ones. It also helps normalize regret, which is important because regret is normal. (30:55)

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undefined - 64: What Will Variant Sigma Look Like?, with Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., Regents Professor, Division of Environmental Health Science; Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) University of Minnesota

64: What Will Variant Sigma Look Like?, with Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., Regents Professor, Division of Environmental Health Science; Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) University of Minnesota

Meet Michael Osterholm, Ph.D.:

Michael Osterholm, Ph.D. is a Regents Professor, the Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy (CIDRAP), and McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Osterholm was appointed to President Biden’s Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board. He is author of “Deadliest Enemy” and hosts “The Osterholm Update: COVID-19” podcast. Dr. Osterholm received a Ph.D. and MS in Environmental Health and an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.

Key Insights:

Dr. Osterholm is a distinguished leader in a variety of areas including as a scientist, public health official, author, professor, and advisor.

The State of the Pandemic. Pre-existing immunity from vaccines and prior infections clearly reduce severe illness and deaths. However, Dr. Osterholm questions, what’s after Omicron? What will variant Pi and Sigma look like? Viral evolution indicates that upcoming variants will be more infectious and have more immune system evasion. We must be prepared. (13:16)
Lessons from Pandemics. There are sociological lessons to learn from previous disease outbreaks. The duration of the 1918 pandemic was around three years. However, after about a year, the public gave up on public health recommendations, and stopped acting on or accepting protections. (28:41)
Vaccine Technology. Dr. Osterholm predicts we will see new vaccine technologies that are more immune enhancing. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines provide a rapid antibody response, which wanes in a matter of months. Adenovirus vaccines initially seemed less effective, but result in a stronger T-cell response, which is a more durable immunity. New vaccine technology will need to produce a complex immune response, rather than focusing on just the antibody response. (30:49)

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