S2 Ep31: That's So Cincinnati: 'The handshake is dead,' don't forget about another crisis, top Cincinnati public health expert says

Dr. O'dell Owens wants us all stay focused on a public health crisis. 

He's talking about the opioid crisis, Greater Cincinnati's leading public health expert wants everyone to know hasn't gone away amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

"It’s falling off of people’s thought patterns," Owens told The Enquirer's That's So Cincinnati podcast. "That’s what bothers me. This issue was so big that the life expectancy numbers in our country changed."

Owens, president and CEO of Interact for Health, is concerned about what life is going to be like after the coronavirus is under control. He fears medical resources and funding will be diverted from tackling drug addiction, which could get worse if there's a recession. 

More immediately, Owens said, what's going to happen when restrictions are lifted on international shipping?

"The supply chain has really been cut down," said Owens, the former Hamilton County coroner. "People have to get by with a little less than what they normally would use. That’s why I think the overdoses are down. But once China opens back up and the Mexican borders open back up, they’ve got a stockpile of (drugs) that they’re going to put in this market and it’s going to be cheap. It’s frightening."

Named one of the Great Living Cincinnatians by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber this year, Owens touched on several other topics on the podcast. Here's a further sampling of what he said: 

On what life generally could be like after the coronavirus pandemic ends ... 

This country will never be the same. The way we practice medicine. The way we educate people. The way we relate. The handshake is dead. Who’s hand are you going to shake and when? You going to shake somebody’s hand in June? You going to shake it in September when you’re still hearing about cases? And we’re going to wash our hands more. If they’re any silver lining, we’re going to see less cases of the regular flu this year. And we will have started a culture of people washing their hands more. This is going to be a good thing because it’s going to impact other diseases as well.

On whether he'll run for elected office again ... 

Oh, no, no, no. I’ve had my share of public office, and I’ll never do that again. I’m more of an independent Democrat. I have a friend who’s a very, very conservative Republican, a very successful businessman in Cincinnati. He guaranteed … he would minimally raise $1 million for my campaign. He’s said that for the last seven years. I said, ‘No.’ I had my run as the coroner. We did some great things, but I wear my heart on my sleeves. As a politician, people can say anything about you that they want whether it’s true or not. You get a lot of unjustified criticism. I’ve done that. I’ve accomplished that. I think I can be helpful doing other kinds of things.

On what Owens meant by saying he's "not done yet" during the Great Living Cincinnatian ceremony in February ...  

I was that poor kid from the West End who was written off. I was the one who was told by the counselor I was too poor and too stupid to go to college. So for me, it’s always been this strong sense that I have to give back. But more importantly, I have to inspire. I have to go talk to the people who don’t have a voice and say, ‘Hey, I’m not asking you to go to Yale and Harvard like I did, but at least give me high school.’ I just feel strongly that we have to leave this earth better than what we have.