If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as being too prepared. We fell well short of being ready to confront the public health emergency, but investment in public health also has long been inadequate for dealing with challenges like persistently high rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Thanks to an idea being developed in collaboration with state and local governments and New Jersey’s philanthropic sector, being prepared and well-resourced could be less of a problem the next time we face a massive public health crisis, as well as to deal with ongoing threats to public health. The goal of this effort is to establish a nonprofit public health institute in New Jersey. There are 43 such institutes in 33 states, and they performed lifesaving work amid the pandemic.