BGSU Public and Allied Health Symposium examines public health impact of East Palestine train derailment

The yearly gathering was started in honor of alumnus Ned E. Baker in 1999 and engages in real-world public health challenges

Each year, the BGSU College of Health and Human Services hosts the Public and Allied Health Symposium, bringing together a diverse community of students, faculty, practitioners and community leaders to listen, learn and collaborate on critical public health issues to further the public good. Experts discuss public health responses, environmental health and community rights, in an effort to foster connections, encourage innovation and empower attendees to make a difference in their communities.

"Public health is all about prevention. The people who work in public health improve the lives of others by stopping bad things from happening and by responding when they do," said Dr. Philip Welch, who holds the Ned E. Baker Distinguished Professorship in Public Health in the Department of Public and Allied Health. "Much of this work goes unrecognized. One of the most important purposes of the BGSU Public and Allied Health Symposium is to celebrate and recognize the health professionals who are tackling significant societal issues in the region and beyond."

The symposium shapes the landscape of public health dialogue by engaging with real-world challenges, such as this year's discussion of the effects of the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Public health officials who dealt with the hazardous materials fallout firsthand, as well as an internationally recognized environmental rights attorney, addressed the symposium. The derailment occurred on Feb. 3, 2023, when 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials went off the tracks in the rural town of fewer than 5,000 residents.

"Education is the heart of BGSU and our symposium, which is why we are thrilled to see our event go from 40 participants 10 years ago to 400 today," Welch said. "At its essence, education is an act of sharing. Our symposium provides a space outside of the classroom where BGSU students can share ideas with thought leaders in the field and each other."

Keynote speaker series

The symposium's keynote speaker series brings together nationally recognized experts in a variety of different topics to share insights, research and inspiration with the University and wider community.

The 2024 keynote address was delivered by Thomas Alan Linzey, a senior attorney with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, who is committed to advancing the legal rights of nature and the environment globally. Linzey’s work has shaped the contemporary community rights movement, resulting in the adoption of laws across the U.S. and beyond.

In his address to a crowded Lenhart Grand Ballroom at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, Linzey discussed elements that prevent communities from being able to challenge and take control of environmental situations that threaten harm to their municipalities, likening key issues to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. He asserted the fourth horseman is one that people hold the power to vanquish: doubt.

"Perhaps the largest of the four horsemen that ride in the battle with communities like East Palestine is doubt. Doubt in our own heads. Doubt that we can make a difference. Doubt that we should be doing anything besides what we're already doing. Doubt that we can have a role in the defense. That when things happen like a train derailment, that we're acting legitimately when we come in to try to help clean it up," he said.

Three public health officials working for change and restoring their East Palestine community after the 2023 train derailment shared their experiences with symposium attendees in the hopes that students and professionals alike would learn from the extraordinary crisis that they had to navigate.

Visiting the symposium stage were Dr. Wes Vins, Columbiana County health commissioner; Dr. Gretchen Nickell, chief medical officer; and Laura Fauss, MPH, director of environmental health.

Vins said he considers it part of his job to relate the lessons learned from the East Palestine train derailment, especially to future public health professionals like the students in attendance.

"The work of us sharing our experiences is very important so that you can see how we evolve and the things that we did," he said. "Perhaps you can adapt, understand and perhaps even learn in advance the things we have done, especially in your research. We're advocates for advancing the village and its knowledge into the future so that research is ongoing, and hopefully in the end we can all learn something from this."

Student awards

BGSU students in the College of Health and Human Services also were recognized for excellence during the symposium. The 2024 recipients include:

• Alex Wood, outstanding senior in Public Health. Wood is a Thompson Scholar, a member of the Chapman Learning Community and a campus tour guide. After graduation, he plans to work in public health and also obtain his master's of public health.
• Amber Stultz, outstanding senior in medical laboratory science. Stultz will work full-time as a medical laboratory scientist after graduation at the Fulton County Health Center.
• Lukas Wise, outstanding senior in healthcare administration. Wise is also a College of Health and Human Services Student Ambassador and a member of the Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law Club. He will join the public health field upon graduation.
• Evelyn Deuser, outstanding senior in dietetics. Deuser is involved in the BGSU Student Nutrition Association and is a learning assistant for Intro to Human Food and Nutrition. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to obtain her master's of dietetics and nutrition.
• Hannah Koch, outstanding master's student in food and nutrition. Koch, who graduated in 2023, now serves as a clinical dietitian at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.

Special recognition was given to Paige Roethlisberger, a senior healthcare administration student. She received top national honors for the Richard J. Stull Essay Competition and was honored at the American College of Healthcare Executives meeting in Chicago on March 27, for her essay, “AI-Powered Patient-Centered Care: A Call for Innovation.”

Legacy and recognition

The symposium, initially named the Ned E. Baker Lecture in Public Health, was established in 1999 to honor the remarkable contributions of Ned Baker '50, '09 (Hon.) to the field of public health.

Baker received his bachelor’s degree from BGSU in 1950 and later earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan in 1954. His professional journey included roles as a sanitarian, health planner and director for various health-related organizations.

“Our annual Public Health Symposium highlights and draws people’s attention to important contemporary issues affecting the health and well-being of the people of northwestern Ohio and beyond. I am very pleased so many people look to BGSU, to the College of Health and Human Services, and to our Department of Public and Allied Health, for the informative fact-based discussion — focusing on the commonweal (cq) — that we engage in each year in this symposium,” said Dr. James Ciesla, dean of the BGSU College of Health and Human Services.

In recognition of Baker’s legacy, BGSU awarded him an honorary doctor of science in public health degree in 2009. Baker's professional career included service as a sanitarian with the Wood County Health Department and the Ohio Department of Health, a health planner and associate executive director for the Health Planning Association of Northwest Ohio and director for the Northwest Ohio Area Health Education Center at the Medical College of Ohio. He served 12 years on the Wood County Board of Health, including two terms as its president. In 1992, he was a founding member of the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH). As NALBOH's first executive director, 1995-98, he established the association's headquarters in Bowling Green.

Baker remains one of the University’s most prominent alumni and his commitment to public health echoes through the symposium, inspiring future generations of health professionals.

"We understand that knowledge can yield powerful, positive change in the world and that limiting access to public education limits positive change. That's why our Symposium is open to the public free of charge," Welch said.