Resilience Prize Maricopa County Public Health Department illustrates the benefits of a long-term approach using data to drive adaptation Intended to bring widespread recognition to the significance of building community resilience, the Resilience Prize highlights outstanding collective, long-term and systemic efforts to improve community resilience and build prosperity in Maricopa County. Five elements of community resilience outlined by Dr. Judith Rodin in her book The Resilience Dividend inspired the criteria for prize selection: awareness, diversity, integration, the capacity for self-regulation, and adaptiveness. KER was pleased to present the 2021 Resilience Prize to the Maricopa County Public Health Department (MCPDH), Office of Epidemiology and Data Services for its long-standing commitment to building community resilience through data and partnerships, a longrunning effort that has been paying dividends in this time of stress. MCDPH responded to the growing threat of extreme heat by chronicling the health impacts and loss of life caused by extreme temperatures. “In July of 2005, in Maricopa County there was a big heat event,” says Vjollca Berisha, senior epidemiologist for MCPDH Office of Epidemiology. “We had high temperatures, and those temperatures contributed to a total of 45 deaths in that month.” The next year, MCPDH began a program of heat surveillance, gathering data on heat-related illness and death in our community. This data has allowed the team to inform cooling centers and water distribution and to target outreach and education efforts. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, extreme temperatures exacerbated the threat to already
17
A N N UA L R E P O R T 2021
vulnerable communities. But having data on heatassociated public health impacts accelerated our community’s ability to respond. The office also expanded its capacity significantly to meet the increased needs of Maricopa County residents. This year, the county continuously improved the usefulness, quality and reach of heat-affected health metrics. Coming together with many organizations across the valley, MCDPH used a data-driven approach to share knowledge, discover new perspectives, and forge plans to respond.
”If we want a resilient community, we need to meet people where they are. We need to listen to their voices. We need to learn how to shift the power because they may have the experience, they may have the solutions … However, they don’t have connections.” — VJOLLCA B E R ISHA, SE N IOR E PI DE M IOLOG IST, MCPH D OFFICE OF E PI DE M IOLOGY
Their work underpins countless efforts by residents, organizations, governments, and researchers to set in motion efforts at response and adaptation to one of the valley’s most critical threats. We are grateful for their example and are pleased to recognize their long-term efforts that support and inspire many other collective initiatives around heat resilience and public health.
