{"id":32082,"date":"2020-07-15T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=32082"},"modified":"2020-07-15T09:30:01","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T13:30:01","slug":"graduate-working-in-public-health-glad-to-feel-useful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2020\/07\/graduate-working-in-public-health-glad-to-feel-useful\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate working in public health: ‘Glad to feel useful’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Zach North earned a master’s in public health and a bachelor’s in environmental science and geology from UTC.<\/p><\/div>\n

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About two weeks after Zach North earned his master\u2019s in public health from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he was chasing COVID-19 across 10 counties in Southeast Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaptism by fire,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cYes, it does wear you out, but it’s rewarding. I really feel like it’s important work, and I’m not glad that this is happening, but I’m glad to feel useful, to use my skills in public health for, hopefully, the betterment of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working for the Tennessee Department of Health, North is talking to people who\u2019ve been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, tracking the possible movement of the virus in the region. His official title is \u201ccontact tracer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA case interviewer goes and talks extensively with the positive case of coronavirus,\u201d North said. The goal is finding out where the person recently has been and who they\u2019ve contacted personally. The list of contacts is then divvied up among contact tracers and the phone calls begin, explained North, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in environmental science and geology from UTC in 2015.<\/p>\n

Whether they\u2019re living with an\u00a0infected person or are not and whether they\u2019re showing symptoms or not, those being called are told that to avoid being infected or infecting someone else, they should quarantine themselves for two weeks. Those living in the same household as the infected patient also are recommended to isolate themselves from everyone else in the home.<\/p>\n

Still, there are times when people seem a bit unconcerned or even cavalier about actually being infected or being in the same house as someone who is, North said. It\u2019s his job to make them care.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it’s hard for me to express the importance of the quarantine and isolation that they’re under,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I’m communicating properly, I’m telling them what they need to do, how long they need to stay home, who this could impact and, even if they aren’t experiencing symptoms, why they are still at risk or how they are putting others at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not having symptoms doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not infected, he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s not necessarily how it works. The virus can carry. It can follow you even if you are not experiencing symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawn Ford, assistant provost for teaching and learning at UTC and executive director of the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning, had North in several of her classes and said she enjoyed his \u201copenness to new ideas and willingness to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, he was the only male student in my Gender in Leadership class. In class, we discussed concepts like gender bias and the double bind; he was very involved in the discussion with a room full of women,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Before being hired by the Tennessee Department of Health, North was working for the Hamilton County Health Department, reaching out to city residents to explain the effects of lead contamination to city residents. Because of its history of manufacturing, especially the iron industry, Chattanooga has many sites filled with lead residue.\u00a0Even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems, according to the Mayo Clinic. Children younger than six are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had heard about it in undergrad, but I didn’t know how expansive it was and that people just didn’t really know about it,\u201d North said. \u201cThat was kind of the big issue we were seeing. A lot of people weren’t aware of lead poisoning, how rampant it was in the community and really what it could do to the human body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford, whom North describes as a mentor, recalls a moment focused on lead poisoning that defines the type of person North is.\u00a0\u201cAt Howard School in the fall, we were working an event for childhood lead poisoning and a reporter wanted an interview. I asked Zach to do it and he was so excited. He took everything in stride as a learning opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the end, though, whether it\u2019s lead or COVID-19, his main job is communication, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s all public health communication and keeping up with public health awareness and just sorting through kind of the myths and the truths of public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The feeling of responsibility is heavy right now with COVID-19, but that\u2019s both intimidating and energizing, North said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel this is an incredible time to be in public health. That might sound kind of morbid, but this is when this profession is needed. And I really hope I’m gaining skills, otherwise, what am I doing?<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I’m learning. I like to think I am. Every day, there’s something new, some different situation to handle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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