Maine CDC Public Health Update

Maine CDC Logo

Public Health Update

June 23, 2016

In this update:

Maine CDC Announces New Leadership

Last month, Maine CDC announced a change in leadership that will provide both strong operational leadership and clinical expertise to the CDC and position it for continued success.

Sheryl Peavey has been appointed the Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Dr. Christopher Pezzullo has been named the State Health Officer.  The COO will be responsible for day-to-day operational decision-making, while the State Health Officer’s clinical expertise will inform decisions affecting public health for the Maine CDC and the DHHS.  Both positions will report directly to DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew.  Former Maine CDC Director Kenneth Albert resigned to take a job in the private sector.

Prior to this appointment, Peavey served as DHHS’ Director of Strategic Reform. She has played an integral role in budget development, contract evaluation, competitive procurement, Request for Proposal review and development, performance measurement, grant approval and quality improvement for the Maine CDC and other DHHS offices since 2013. While in this role, she represented Maine at the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget’s Achieving Results in State Government Summit in Utah.

Peavey is a graduate of Brandeis University as well as a member of the Phi Class of Leadership Maine, a program of the Maine Development Foundation.  Since 2009, she has served continuous terms as an elected member of her town’s Budget Committee.   Her experience over a 12-year career in State government that focused on developing coordinated and integrated programs and systems across all of DHHS has positioned her to provide strong stewardship of public funds as we seek to achieve measurable outcomes that preserve, promote and protect the health of all Maine people.

Dr. Pezzullo has been practicing medicine for nearly 20 years in Maine as a pediatrician He’s a graduate of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been recognized as a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. 

He became DHHS’ Chief Health Officer in 2014. During the last year, Dr. Pezzullo has been a driving force behind the Department’s efforts to address the public health epidemic of opioid and opiate use.  He has informed new laws that lower prescribing duration and prescription strength, supported the required use of the Prescription Monitoring Program and assisted in the development and creation of a new pilot project to test Vivitrol to combat addiction.

Dr. Pezzullo joined Maine CDC as the Medical Director of the Division of Population Health in 2012.  Prior to joining State government, he was the Chief Medical Officer for University Health Care from 2008 to 2012.

Dr. Pezzullo was also recently named the Maine Osteopathic Association’s Physician of the Year.


Maine CDC Earns National Public Health Accreditation

Maine CDC has earned public health accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).  Maine CDC joins 18 other state health departments that have achieved this distinction.  Fewer than 200 health departments across the nation are accredited.

The PHAB’s goal is to improve and protect public health by transforming the quality and performance of public health departments.  This national program, jointly supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation establishes rigorous standards that foster continuous quality improvement and excellence.  To earn accreditation, a health department must undergo a multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to ensure it meets or exceeds these quality standards and measures.   Maine CDC has been working toward accreditation over the last several years.

The PHAB standards cover a dozen different domains including public health assessments, investigation and surveillance, communication and education, community collaboration, policies and planning, enforcement of public health laws, workforce capacity, leadership and process improvement.  A full list of the domains and the multiple standards associated with them can be found at http://www.phaboard.org/wp-content/uploads/PHABSM_WEB_LR1.pdf.

Maine’s accreditation is in effect for five years.


Maine Immunization Champion Announced

Immunization Champions 2016


Jeri Greenwell (seated) was named Maine’s Immunization Champion for 2016 by the U.S. CDC.   Joining Greenwell in the photo are (from left) Maine CDC Immunization program staff Celeste Poulin, Tonya Philbrick and Danielle Hall. 


U.S. CDC has named Jeri Greenwell of Bethel as Maine’s 2016 Childhood Immunization Champion for her outstanding efforts to promote childhood immunizations.

Greenwell has made it her life’s mission to improve awareness about vaccine-preventable diseases. She has developed relationships with political leaders from both sides of the aisle, spoken with many about the importance of vaccination and has met with various groups and individuals to provide education.  In addition, Greenwell has coordinated school-based activities with school nurses, students and parents to support on-time immunizations.

Greenwell’s passion and commitment to children’s health is driven by her family’s personal tragedy.  In 2003, her son, Jerry, awoke with flu-like symptoms and by evening, he was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.  Despite aggressive, round-the-clock care, Jerry died from meningococcal meningitis with this family by his side.  This disease is preventable through immunization.

“Only those who have experienced their child or loved one suffering from the devastating consequences of a vaccine-preventable disease can truly comprehend the impact it has on a family or parent,’’ said Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew. “Jeri has been a tireless advocate for childhood immunization and has turned her grief into positive action.”

Each year during National Infant Immunization Week, the U.S. CDC and its CDC Foundation honor health professionals and community leaders from around the country with the CDC Childhood Immunization Champion awards. These awards acknowledge the outstanding efforts of those individuals who strive to ensure that children in their communities are fully immunized against 14 preventable diseases before age two.


Public Health Training

A new e-learning module, Health Equity in Maine, is now available at www.maine.gov/pht, Maine’s public health training site.  

This module reinforces the basic concepts of how public health works to address health disparities faced by Maine people. You will learn the difference between health inequity and health inequality, the structural factors and social determinants of health that influence the health of Maine people and how public health practitioners can adapt and implement programs to address health inequities. 

The module takes about 60 minutes to complete and is interactive, providing opportunities for learners to work through a Maine-based case study to identify public health strategies to address health disparities.


Nutrition Label Changes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the new nutrition facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. Among the changes to help consumers is the addition of grams of added sugars below "Total Sugars." Manufacturers will need to use the new label by July 26, 2018, although manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have an additional year.

For more information, go to http://go.usa.gov/xqZzA