since 1921 in fact the very year that
Hot Springs National Park was created
we've had a partnership with the United
States Public Health Service our County
director Stephen Mather wanted to make
sure were that we had the requisite
expertise to address water issues and
interest in the Yellowstone National
Park and asked the United States Surgeon
General to provide a commissioned Corps
officer to provide that support since
that day the United States Public Health
Service and at 64 officers around the
country have provided some amazing
product to help to ensure that our staff
and our visitors have a safe experience
I've learned personally I haven't been a
former superintendent of what the United
States Public Health Service is capable
of doing and I have directly benefitted
as a superintendent in superintendents
around the country and now in my current
capacity and in working with Captain
Sarah Newman of the United States Public
Health Service a dear friend that I've
worked with for many years Sarah and the
service continue to provide the guidance
and support that frankly not only I
National Park Service leadership but
Secretary of the Interior David Bernard
have valued as it pertains to this
global pandemic and in these difficult
times that we face having the United
States Public Health Service and all of
their staff providing guidance and
support has been extremely helpful in
order to guide our decision-making as we
work through these
look at the Newman thank you sir it is a
huge honor for me to serve this agency
and it's a huge honor for me to serve
this phenomenal team of health
professionals the valuable relationship
that the National Park Service has had
with the United States Public Health
Service for a hundred years now expanded
in 2009 to now be able to sign officers
to any one of our bureaus so those 64
officers represent the entire agency we
have in the office of public health a
duty to serve this agency almost like an
internal health department we are small
but we are mighty group of health
professionals our work requires us to
inspect thousands of water wastewater
recreational water and food systems
throughout the entire National Park
Service and we do this to ensure that
our park managers to make good decisions
to meet their regulatory requirements
but we also prevent liability and reduce
cost to u.s. government while we prevent
disease the other work that we do
requires us to do epidemiologic work we
prevent detect and respond to hundreds
of diseases every year in fact we have
about a hundred and fifty disease events
that we respond to every year spanning
issues like hantavirus play rabies tick
borne illnesses and many others and we
do this every day to protect the health
and the safety of all of our employees
and the population and the public that
come to enjoy these parts we take what
we call a one health approach
we do what does that mean that means
that we believe that people animals and
the environment are related so we have
draw upon medical veterinary and
environmental science to address disease
prevention in the parks and this is
important in an agency whose mission is
to protect those resources originally
when the Park Service brought in public
health folks they brought in engineers
and environmental health officers but
the demand and need in the Park Service
grew and today we have a whole range of
professionals from Public Health serving
this agency from industrial hygienists
epidemiologists scientists and even
medical officers who have served this
agency with covin 19 this agency is
facing the largest response effort it is
ever faced in its history and I can't
tell you what an honor it is and how
humbled I am that our commissioned Corps
here assigned are helping to lead this
effort it's challenging it's uncertain
but we are committed and we are
dedicated to serving with you and
together as a team we coordinate with
the Department of Interior we ensure
that what we provide to you is
science-based
relies on the CDC and other public
health sources that we trust and while
there is uncertain because of
uncertainty because this virus is not
known there is still science that's
uncertain about this virus we all know
that that makes it frustrating it makes
it much more challenging for us but
we're doing the best we can to provide
the tools the guidance that you need and
then the information that you need
timely manner what's frustrating about
some of this is that it does change that
sometimes one day we think we're clear
about the science and the next day that
changes we realize that and again we're
doing everything we can to keep up with
that science and to deliver it to you in
the parks in a way that you can
understand it and interpret it to make
really good decisions Hey we're learning
as we go too and doing the best job we
can and I can't tell you how much I
appreciate hearing from the field to
know they understand so it's an honor
for me to work for you and sir I can't
tell you what an honor it is for me to
serve you I want to thank you for
trusting us and for your phenomenal
leadership during this crisis thank you
well thank you thank you Sarah really
appreciate that to all the men and women
of the National Park Service our work
force the United States Park Police our
volunteers thank you for all that you do
as well
because we will get through this
together we'll be strong together we
will learn from what we experienced
together and as a result be able to
effectively address and tackle any
challenge that comes our way
have a great day