On December 4 and 5, a who’s who of Illinois health leaders participated in a workshop organized by Drs. Will Sander and Sulagna Chakraborty from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. The workshop sought to anticipate and solve health challenges in the state using a “One Health” approach. During the workshop, participants assessed the needs in Illinois related to zoonotic diseases and outbreak response, agriculture and animal husbandry, environment, climate change, access to healthcare, antimicrobial resistance, and data interoperability.
The more than 60 attendees included the state’s chief medical officer, the state veterinarian, and representatives from the FBI, the Farm Bureau, Extension, FEMA, USDA, Lincoln Park Zoo, and many academic institutions. Invited speakers included Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health; Dr. Beth Lipton, state public health veterinarian for Washington state, which recently conducted a similar needs assessment; and Dr. Cheryl Stroud, director of the One Health Commission.