Monthly Public Health Consultant Spotlight: Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP
Each month, I will introduce you to a public health consultant or entrepreneur and they will share their path to self-employment and outline key pieces of advice for aspiring business owners.
Today we welcome Dr. Jessica Steier from Jupiter, Florida (USA)!
1. Please share your educational background and business title/name.
I’m the co-founder and CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting, LLC (VSC).
We have headquarters in New Jersey and Florida, with another office in New York. We are a remote firm with clients and consultants all across the country.
Degrees and certifications: Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Master of Public Health (MPH), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certification in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, Certification in Covid-19 Contact Tracing from Johns Hopkins University; and Psychological Health First Aid for Covid-19 and Returning to Work During Covid-19 Safe Work Practices from The American Red Cross.
2. Tell us how you entered the field of public health and what your education and work experience was prior to consulting or starting your own business.
Watching my father battle emphysema for over a decade inspired me to pursue a career in public health. Specifically, I was drawn to work in health policy (tobacco policy, in particular) and chronic health prevention and management. My foray into public health started with an internship at the NYC Department of Health where I evaluated the impact of increased taxation on cigarettes, public bans on smoking in parks and beaches, and the self-identification of non-daily (or "social" smokers). I fell in love with data science. Since then, I worked in a variety of fields prior to launching Vital Statistics Consulting. My first “real” full-time position was as a full-time faculty member in clinical academia. As the inaugural Research Coordinator of Hofstra University’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies, I designed the Master’s curriculum from the ground up and taught coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design. I also consulted for several hospitals and departments of health to conduct program evaluations and health needs assessments. Immediately after earning my doctorate, I moved down to Florida to be closer to my parents as my father’s illness advanced, and took a remote position as a Senior Health Policy Consultant at The Lewin Group on their advanced analytics team, working primarily on large state and federal grants. Sadly, I lost my father to this terrible disease last year, and I will continue to fight for evidence-based public health interventions to improve population health and, of course, to honor his memory.
3. When did you start your business and what were your motivations for pursuing self-employment?
To be perfectly candid, I started Vital Statistics Consulting (in 2017) because I wanted more control over my culture of work. Public health and health policy consulting is extremely intensive, meaningful work. Too often, though, I felt detached from the impact of my efforts and from the colleagues with whom I worked. Starting my own business allowed me more autonomy, and allowed me to develop a positive, nurturing culture of work for myself and for my consultants. I feel strongly about having a balance between work life and family life—and self-employment allows me to control that balance. I also believe strongly in positive reinforcement, collegial work environments, comradery, and partnership. These are core values that I have made certain to foster at Vital Statistics Consulting.
4. Who is your ideal client? What services do you offer?
My ideal client is one who understands that it takes time and skill to turn data into meaningful and actionable information. All too often, we speak with administrators at hospitals and healthcare systems who have access to incredibly rich datasets who do not understand the potential of those data, when analyzed properly, to guide data-driven improvements in quality of care and health outcomes. All too often, these organizations barely scratch the surface of unleashing the power of their data. We offer a variety of services that all have the same goal: optimization of data to guide decision-making. We work with organizations to understand the data they have available and the questions they wish to answer. We design evaluations of health policies and programs, construct analytic plans, conduct advanced analytics (quantitative and qualitative), and interpret findings for different stakeholder audiences.
5. Do you have a particular product or service that you’d like to highlight? Tell us all about it!
As a passion project, I formed a wholly owned subsidiary of VSC, The Unbiased Science Podcast, which I co-host with my longtime friend, Dr. Andrea Love (who has a PhD in immunology and microbiology). The inspiration came when I found myself debunking tons of misinformation rampant in mom groups on Facebook. The goal of the pod is to dispel common misconceptions (our motto is, “no nonsense, just science”). Unbiased Science is devoted to objective, critical appraisal of available evidence on health-related topics relevant to listeners’ daily lives. We try to make science more accessible and to break down and contextualize scientific research for a diverse audience, whose understanding is critical to dissemination of evidence-based recommendations. We have devoted considerable air time to promoting accurate information on Covid-19. Several episodes have focused on emerging science, including studies of epidemiology, treatment, and vaccination. We also cover non-Covid topics such as vaccinations (lots on the flu shot), GMOs, vitamins and supplements, and more! New episodes are released every Monday and are available on all major platforms (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and more!)
6. How has your consulting business been impacted by COVID-19? What adjustments have you made in order to continue to be successful?
A lot has happened this past year! My firm has pivoted to apply our advanced analytics, scientific communication, and data translation services to Covid-19. Specifically, several of VSC’s projects are specific to monitoring and evaluation of Covid-19-related work. One current project, a sero-survey of the client’s roughly 1,800 employees, who are distributed across 51 clinics and administrative sites, employed antibody testing to establish SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, as well as patterns of prior infection across such characteristics as job title, location, exposure history, etc. VSC provided a “turn-key” service, developing and offering automated recruitment and screening tools, participant surveys, research protocol, IRB application, staff training, specimen-collection procedures, data storage, and analysis. We are presently analyzing the data, and will prepare a scientific manuscript for publication.
VSC has also initiated a separate Covid-19 project, in which we are collaborating with a large NYS-based FQHC’s CMO and other stakeholders to develop and conduct analyses that will assess the impact of Covid-19-related changes in healthcare delivery on patients' service utilization, access to care, and other selected outcomes. Our analysis utilizes data extracted from the organization's EHR to examine trends in key measures and performance indicators, such as utilization of evaluation and management services (e.g. routine well visits, chronic disease management), sick visits for acute illness (Covid-19-related and non-Covid-19-related), no-show rates for scheduled appointments, wait times for requested appointments, emergency department visits, and disruption in obtaining vaccinations. We are also exploring trends in new diagnoses for selected acute and/or chronic conditions that may be associated with Covid-19.
VSC has distinguished itself as a leader in translating Covid-19 science to best practices for individual, family, organizational, and community safety and well-being. In May 2020, we presented Covid-19: Translating the Science & Exploring the Path Ahead, a 3-day, real-time, virtual summit that addressed numerous aspects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Presented by epidemiologists, scientists, public health researchers, medical clinicians, community health leaders, and employment experts, our 15-session program provided up-to-date information about the virus, helped interpret the scientific evidence, described efforts to combat the virus, and offered practical recommendations for maintaining well-being. Each hour-long session consisted of a 45-minute talk and a 15-minute live Q&A. VSC also recently convened another virtual event, Medium as Message: Delivering Covid-19 Public Health Information to Contained Communities, on November 8, 2020. In this 90-minute conversation and Q&A, VSC leaders and religious leaders discussed strategies for translating public health messages related to Covid-19 prevention, detection, and treatment in a manner culturally sensitive to faith-based communities such as Ultra-Orthodox Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities; discussion will focus on what, how, and who should provide this information. This conversation was the first in a series that will focus on methods for translating public health imperatives into action.
Finally, VSC has been engaged to provide epidemiologic briefings and forecasts of incident viral infection to nonprofit and commercial clients. These engagements have generated interest in more practical applications of our knowledge, such as how to modify communal work environments to maximize employee safety. Our interdisciplinary team has created customized solutions that integrate analysis of client workflow and physical workspaces, evolving epidemiologic research, and public health policy guidelines for safe reintroduction of employees to workspaces.
7. Many of our readers are considering a career as a self-employed public health consultant or entrepreneur. What is your best piece of advice for those considering or just starting out?
Three years ago, I made the difficult decision to leave a stable, well-paid job at a respected health policy firm to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor with my former professor and life-long mentor, Dr. Bill Gallo. Being a small business owner is not for the faint of heart! It has been a rollercoaster ride, filled with exciting highs and defeating lows. The advice I would give to anyone considering a career as a self-employed public health consultant would be to celebrate the wins, even the small ones. It is easy to get hung up on the failures, but that does not mean that you failed -- it is simply a part of the process and the path to success. There is never a dull moment in the world of self-employment. You are truly in control of the fate of your business, which is both exciting and daunting. Work hard, but don’t forget to make yourself a priority! I am busy taking care of my family, my household, and my business, but I don't often make time for myself. My work ethic is definitely an asset, but I need to be careful to not burn the candle at both ends. Taking care of yourself (even if that means unplugging from time to time) will actually benefit your business, clients, and everyone in your life.
8. How can readers connect with you? Please share links to relevant websites and social media accounts:
Readers can connect with me via Vital Statistics Consulting or the Unbiased Science Podcast.
VSC: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Newsletter
Podcast: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram