HJAR Nov/Dec 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2020 15 significant if you have financial difficulties. The governor has made it possible to have consultation video care and telephone care, but we need to keep that going. One of the things that I think the health department can do is be a champion for the continuation of those services once this pandemic is under control. We can’t roll back the clock. We’ve made some steps forward, and we need to address that. We also need to get more healthcare provid- ers into the community. Education, on the part of the health department—really driv- ing home the message about healthy living and taking care of yourself—is going to be something that we need to do. Editor What can individuals do to improve the overall health of Arkansas? Romero I think the basic things that we can do is vaccination. We have a number of vac- cines that can prevent illnesses in the state, both for adults and for children, so that’s one. Two, diet. The level of obesity in our state is significant, and I have a few more pounds than I should have, so I should probably heed those warnings but increase activity. Getting out, fresh air, exercise will help us with regard to obesity. And then, the issue of smoking: smoking is a preventable cause of heart and lung disease and should be avoided. Alcohol consumption: alcohol consumption in moderation is important. Seeking routine medical care: going to see our doctors on a regular basis or an annual checkup at the very least. But, if we have other conditions, then we should see our doctor as appropriate. If you have hypertension, you need to see your doctor as many times a year as is nec- essary to keep that under control, same with diabetes. So, seeking medical care and dealing with our health problems. And we can’t forget mental health. Mental health is extremely important, and we need to understand that we need to take time for ourselves, have mindfulness and realize that there are places that we can reach out to if we feel that we’re under too much stress, if we have dark thoughts. We have a suicide prevention line here that is manned 24/7. Those things need to be kept in the forefront in our mind. Editor What do you do for mental health or to take care of yourself? Romero I’m a big believer in the power nap, as my staff will tell you that I send emails out at 2:00 in the morning, because I’m a late-night person. But, I have no shame, and I encourage it. I have no shame in nod- ding off for 10minutes at my chair to take a power nap. I think Franklin D. Roosevelt was a person who also did that. I can tell you that for my other job, my job at ADH, my nurse snuck in one day when I was taking a power nap and took a picture of me, which amused everybody to no limit. So, I’m afraid that a photo like that may show up—me taking a power nap at my desk. Unfortunately, I don’t get as much phys- ical activity as I used to before this job. Thank God my wife makes me get out and work in her garden. It’s not just a garden; it’s more like a farm out there on some pub- lic land that she rents from the county. So, I get some activity like that. I don’t walk my dog as much as I’d like to, and it’s not good that I’m up until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning answering emails. Things are getting bet- ter, and I’m setting my goals to try to get to bed earlier and sleep more, but as I said, I have no shame for taking a short power nap. And, I encourage it among physicians, residents who work withme. There’s no rea- son why they can’t do that 10-minute nap in the middle of the day. If you need it, you should take it. Editor Is there anything else that you would like to add? Romero I think we’ve covered pretty much everything. We covered vaccines and their importance. I think that the health depart- ment has done, is doing and will continue to get better at delivering healthcare messag- ing to the underprivileged groups, linguisti- cally challenged groups in the state. We can’t forget about these individuals. We need to make sure that they have information in the language and in a form that is important to them. We’ve learned a lot about that from the COVID epidemic—how best to commu- nicate with these groups. So, I think we’re learning a lot from a medical point of view but also from a public health point of view. I think that probably the last thing that I want to say is that this is a unique honor in my career. I never thought that I would be in this position; I never aspired to this posi- tion. I understand the privilege of holding it. I thank the governor for putting his trust in me, in selecting me to be the permanent secretary of health. And, I thank Dr. Smith for trusting me and putting faith in me to take this role over after he left. I can say that this is the pinnacle of my career at this point. There are many things that I’mproud of, but this is probably one of the things that I’m most proud of in my career. n There appears to be a growing body of consensus that healthcare providers will be among the first to receive the vaccine— in part because they’re important for providing care to those infected and in part because they are on the front line and at risk for acquiring infection.” “