Q & A - Leading the response:

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner, Dr. Steven Stack, discusses pandemic

Dr. Steven J. Stack was appointed Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health by Gov. Beshear in February, a role that puts him at the center of Kentucky’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He resides in Lexington and is a practicing board-certified emergency physician. He is also a parishioner of the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Dr. Stack is married and the proud father of one daughter. His wife, Tracie, is an allergy/asthma/immunology specialist.

He spoke with Cross Roads about his work in combating the pandemic in Kentucky.
 
Cross Roads: What is important to understand about Kentucky's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
 
Dr. Steven Stack: As a human species, we have not faced a global public health threat like this since the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. We will get through this together, but this is a very dangerous situation. If we don’t pull together as communities – local, state, national, and global – a lot of people will suffer and many will die. As an entire community of humanity, there has never been a more urgent need for every one of us to love our fellow men and women than now.
 
CR: What in your background has best prepared you for this most unusual time?
 
SS: I’ve had a wonderful Catholic education all the way through college – St. Mark’s Elementary School and St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts.
I’ve been further blessed with many additional leadership opportunities that culminated in serving as the 170th president of the American Medical Association in 2015-16. These and countless other experiences have, I hope, provided me a background useful to navigating these unusual times. This being said, no one is adequately prepared for the enormity of these historic events, so it will take every one of us working together to navigate them as safely as possible.
 
CR: How has your Catholic faith informed how you navigate this experience?
 
SS: In addition to my Catholic background, I have specifically had the good fortune of eight years of Jesuit education. I am eternally grateful for these gifts. The Jesuit motto, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God), and the St. Ignatius High School motto, “Men for Others,” are deeply embedded in my memories and experiences. I deeply believe that we have both the opportunity and obligation to help our neighbors and that caring for each other and the most vulnerable among us are some of the greatest acts of love we can perform. My Catholic formation has certainly been a central part of this sense of self and is a daily motivation to me in the work I do.
 
CR: As a public health official, how do you perceive the measures taken by the Catholic Church and other religious groups during this time?
 
SS: I appreciate how difficult this was, particularly as I am doing this interview on Easter Sunday. I was involved with the phone call between Gov. Beshear and faith community leaders, including Bishop Stowe. I have also communicated with Father Prabell at Christ the King Cathedral, my own parish. The decisions they made to cancel Masses and other important activities were both difficult and necessary. They have taken the steps necessary to protect the flock entrusted to their care. I feel the need to be very clear in this. If we congregate, we will spread the COVID-19 infection and people will die. Our bishop and pastors have made the right choice in cancelling in-person activities until we find ways to protect the most vulnerable among us from this terrible disease.
 
CR: What do you think we can all take from the experience of this pandemic?
 
SS: Sadly, we have become terribly divided as a nation and as neighbors. Political and ideological differences are amplified to extreme and dangerous levels. COVID-19 is a scourge, but it is also a threat we all share together and therefore an opportunity for all of us to better appreciate that what unites us should be stronger than what divides us. We can disagree with each other while still loving each other as God’s children – our fellow brothers and sisters. I dearly hope that the undeniably difficult times we are all facing help us to recommit to a new appreciation and love for each other, even when we don’t always agree.
 
CR: What do you wish people understood better about their actions and this crisis?
 
SS: Your personal actions matter and are critical. Every one of us has to comply with the public health measures required or else a very small number of us could seriously harm many others. In fact, a small number of non-compliant people could cause many to die as a result. If ever we needed concrete proof that our individual choices profoundly affect others and have large ripple effects on society, the current COVID-19 emergency is it.
Please do not be cavalier with the lives of others. Practice social distancing by staying healthy at home and 6-10 feet apart. Be disciplined in your personal hygiene (i.e. cover your cough, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, etc.). And don’t look for excuses to flaunt the new rules. Together, we will get through this, but we will only get through it well if we all work together.
 
Read the full May issue of Cross Roads magazine here.