Bizzell Celebrates World Water Day

BIZZELL CELEBRATES WORLD WATER DAY

Lack of clean water is an international crisis. Today, 785 million people – 1 in 9 – lack access to safe water and 2 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet. Every 21 seconds, a child dies of water-related disease. Children are often unable to go to school and women are unable to work because they spend thousands of hours annually hauling water to help maintain their homes.

To bring awareness to clean water issues, The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is proud to help celebrate #WorldWaterDay on March 22. This virtual celebration – Valuing Water – helps raise awareness of the global water crisis and focuses on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #6 to help promote water and sanitation for all. The UN estimates that in 2017, some 3 billion people lacked the ability to safely wash their hands at home, which it notes is “one of the cheapest, easiest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of diseases like the coronavirus.”

An estimated 695 million of a global 2.4 billion people living without improved sanitation facilities live in Sub-Saharan Africa. As an organization on the frontlines of epidemiological and disease surveillance work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Africa, Bizzell finds this alarming. To help address the issue, Bizzell donated water tanks and sinks for young children living in Leve Moi Orphanage in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, housing almost 70 young children and supporting another 500 youth in the community.

In addition, Bizzell works closely with the CDC, which has a full slate of resources on the need for healthy water. Under a CDC Division of Global Health Protection contract, Bizzell communications experts develop messaging and materials to help inform and educate audiences on topics critical to global health security, including clean water access. Additionally, Bizzell supports CDC with qualitative research on messaging related to food safety, including how to properly wash foods to prevent food poisoning.

Please join Bizzell in celebrating #WorldWaterDay on March 22, when the UN World Water Development Report will be released. Register now to participate in this global webinar. The health and economic stability of the world community depend on access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and Bizzell continues to integrate our subject matter expertise, our strategic partnerships, and our philanthropic focus to build healthy, secure, connected, and sustainable communities around the world.

Telebehavioral Health: Technology-Enabled Behavioral Health

Telebehavioral Health: Technology-Enabled Behavioral Health

March 7, 2021 (Lanham, MD) Across the country and around the world, people’s lives are significantly upended by COVID-19. Research indicates that during quarantine, people can experience poorer mental health, including post-traumatic stress, avoidance behaviors, anger, fear of infection, and frustration and boredom (Brooks et al., 2020). Telebehavioral health became a necessity to provide behavioral health treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, adhere with stay-at-home orders, and maintain social distancing (Wright et al., 2020). Published by the Behavioral Health Advancement Resource Center (BHARC), March 2021 Behavioral Health Spotlight offers insights and commentary on telebehavioral health.

Telebehavioral health is an approach to providing behavioral health clinical services, counseling, and health education and information using telecommunication and video communication technologies. Today, telebehavioral health is a standard practice and a rapidly growing approach to deliver clinical services to patients (Paterson et al., 2020). It has been well-received by both patients and providers. “With increasing adoption of telebehavioral health, we can reach the people who need help the most during the pandemic and beyond,” said Anton C. Bizzell, MD, BHARC advisor and CEO of The Bizzell Group (Bizzell). BHARC is funded by Bizzell.

The BHARC Behavioral Health Spotlight is a thought leadership series highlighting various behavioral health topics that impact communities across the United States and abroad. “Telebehavioral Health: Technology-Enabled Behavioral Health” was written by Mim Landry, a BHARC Advisory Council Substance Use and Mental Health Expert. The article describes the benefits of and current issues in telebehavioral health and includes a review and commentary of recent literature on this important topic.

About BHARC

The Behavioral Health Advancement Resource Center (BHARC) is an authoritative source for behavioral health information, insights, technical assistance, training, and innovative tools. BHARC is a mechanism to share evidence-based behavioral health interventions and best practices. The BHARC Advisory Council consists of experts in substance use, mental health, clinical trials, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare standards and quality.

About Bizzell

Bizzell US (Bizzell) is a strategy, consulting, and technology firm that designs innovative solutions to help build healthy, secure, and sustainable communities in our nation and around the world. Bizzell leverages the combined experience of our diverse subject matter experts to develop data-driven, research-informed answers to the world’s most complex challenges—ensuring our clients achieve their vision and goals. For more information, visit: Bizzell US.

Black History Month

Black History Month

Black History month is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans that are so deeply woven into the history of the United States. African American leaders in mental health, government, civil right, the arts, entertainment and sports have influenced generations of Black Americans and taken unprecedented risks to initiate change. Yet, it is important to acknowledge the continued, rampant systemic racism and inequities in wealth, education, criminal justice, and mental health and health care and the impact on the lives of Black Americans.

 

Dr. Anton C. Bizzell, CEO of the Bizzell Group, touches on his own encounters with racism as a Black American physician in this Psychology Today article. He challenges the corporate world to take action to reverse the trauma that Black Americans experience by hiring more Black Americans, offering physical and mental health care resources, and providing supportive work environments that are free of microaggressions.

 

READ MORE: Black History Month

2021 Predictions on Mental Health As We Continue to Work Remotely

Dr. Anton C. Bizzell addresses in a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) blog post how mental health is being affected as we continue to work remotely well into 2021 and beyond. Working remotely can lead to feelings of loneliness, increased stress, and difficulty concentrating and adjusting to the new work style. Still, we must recognize that remote work is part of the “new normal” and is here to stay as we continue to social distance and control the spread of COVID-19 into 2021, Dr. Bizzell believes. Remote work will very likely remain in some form beyond the pandemic, he writes.

READ MORE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF)