To: Howard A. Zucker, M.D., J.D., Commissioner of New York State Department of Health From: Sierra Teegarden Date: 10 July 2021 Re: Untreated and Undertreatment of Mental Health Disorders Statement of Issue: The CDC has estimated that 40% of U.S. adults are struggling with mental health or substance use and 11% of adults seriously considered suicide as of June 2020 (Czeisler et al., 2020). Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. and 2nd leading cause in people aged 10-34 (The National Institute of Public Health, 2021). People with severe mental health disorders have a life expectancy …

Thought paper: What I Would Have Done Differently for the National Response of COVID-19 Sierra Teegarden York College Physician Assistant Program Public Health: HPPA 516 H-WEB Dr. Roger Deo June 20, 2021 When reflecting on the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic we can cite various pitfalls in the national response due to lack of preparedness, action, and knowledge. Consequently, many lives were lost and are still dealing with the long-lasting side effects and socioeconomic ramifications of it. To date, there have been over 33.8 million cases and 606,000 deaths from the virus. While the exact long-term effects are …

Re: Should Clinicians Challenge Faith-Based Institutional Values Conflicting with Their Own? AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(7):E630-636. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2018.630. Sierra Teegarden York College Physician Assistant Program Biomedical Ethics June 3, 2021 Case Summary A sexually active 19-year-old female patient is seeking contraceptive management from her primary care physician at a Catholic health care organization. Her physician agrees she is a good candidate for oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) but is unable to prescribe it for contraceptive management because it is against the organization’s policy for religious objections. Since providing contraception is a legal medical service, the provider agrees to the patient’s suggestion of …