A healthy state

The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on public health like never before, and the sector’s importance hasn’t dwindled in the years since. Being on so many minds at once has increased expectations, a responsibility that Frank Franklin, the Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, takes very seriously.

“I’m a native of Philadelphia, but I’ve spent years working outside Pennsylvania in forensic epidemiology,” he tells The CEO Magazine.

“I’ve also worked in mental health and substance abuse clinics, so it hasn’t always been just public health or health departments. It was about being what I call a mobile commodity, not necessarily bound by brick and mortar.”

His mother’s battle with cancer brought him home periodically, so when the opportunity to become Deputy Health Commissioner for the city of Philadelphia arose, the time seemed right to make the move permanent.

“It was a kind of divine intervention,” he says. “It was a chance for me to influence the health and wellbeing landscape of Philadelphia, and that’s a very rewarding opportunity.”

Life after the pandemic

Franklin’s return coincided with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, a unique time in history that gave him a chance to look at the big picture.

“I’d worked with some Philadelphia nonprofits over the years, so I was familiar with some of the city’s health programs, but there was a big gap in my knowledge,” he admits. “I was able to come in and learn what was happening on the ground.”

Recent staff shake-ups left Franklin and the interim Health Commissioner at square one.

“We divided the work and started on whatever needed to be done,” he recalls. “We had to keep the trains running in terms of the pandemic, but there are always ambient tasks like restaurant inspections, immunizations and things that sound mundane. But when they’re not happening, you realize they’re not so mundane.”

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“We are proud of St. Christopher’s long-standing partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and our shared mission of providing the highest quality services to all children and their families. Since 1875, St. Christopher’s has been a leader in serving children in Philadelphia, across the region and beyond.” – Robert Brooks, President and Interim CEO, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

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Franklin’s first critical patient was the Health Department itself.

“We managed to stabilize the Department by updating its strategic priorities and equity perspective,” he says. “We put things in place to get a sense of direction. We did a workforce survey and pulled everything together.

“Two years later, we could look back and see just how much we really did.”

Innovations included hiring the Department’s first-ever Chief Racial Equity Officer and engaging in a data modernization program.

“It’s about improving the Department’s ability to engage in public health informatics,” Franklin explains. “We have access to a lot of data, but we have to transform it not just into information, but also instructive information.”

Community links

Franklin and his growing team also understand that public health only works if there’s strong community engagement.

“I was hearing of missteps occurring in terms of engaging community partners, and we have had a tendency to broker those relationships more ad hoc,” he concedes.

“So I decided to establish pop-up vaccine clinics in at-risk communities to connect with the vulnerable populations we were at risk of losing. You can’t always stay inside.”

From LGBTQIA+ populations to healthcare facilities such as St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Franklin reveals talking to people and the basics of relationship development worked.

“Most people don’t want to be sick. They don’t wake up and decide they want a disease today,” he points out. “We made it easy for them to get the vaccines they wanted and because we were so accessible, they’d come back for the second dose.”

He believes this approach broke down the barriers of people considered vaccine hesitant.

“You’re always going to have some people who just won’t get vaccines, but other barriers are usually cognitive or structural and can be addressed,” he says.

Future goals

With the Department in a much better state, Franklin says his goals are changing.

“We’re thinking about how to make sure our current work aligns with the vision of a cleaner, greener economic opportunity for all of Philadelphia’s safety and wellbeing,” he says.

“A lot of people separate safety and public health in their minds, but I’ve never known anyone who feels safe if they’re not healthy. For me, it’s all the same.”

Much has been done to develop the Department’s workforce.

“We want to create opportunities for training and improve career trajectories. And on the other side, do a better job taking into consideration the wellbeing of our employees,” Franklin says.

He believes the public health workforce is an incredible force for good in the community.

“They’re very committed,” he insists. “I’m very proud of what we do here. I believe you have to bring health to the people.”