Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Operation Analysis Office at the Tennessee Department of Health, explains how his department expanded its contract tracking system to enhance efficiency and manage grants across their life cycle; Kellie Waugh, analyst for health improvement and healthy aging at ASTHO,...
Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Operation Analysis Office at the Tennessee Department of Health, explains how his department expanded its contract tracking system to enhance efficiency and manage grants across their life cycle; Kellie Waugh, analyst for health improvement and healthy aging at ASTHO, shares how a new report can help state health agencies to support communities impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by highlighting recent legislative activity and examples of promising strategies; tomorrow, Thursday October 2nd, ASTHO will host the final installment of its Succession Planning webinar series about putting the plan into action; and sign up for ASTHO’s legislative alerts to make sure you don’t miss any updates on the current federal government shutdown.
ASTHO Blog: Tennessee and Connecticut Are Transforming Procurement and Grant Management Systems
ASTHO Report: From Policy to Practice: Supporting Brain Health and Caregiving at the State Level
ASTHO Webinar: Succession Planning Part 3 of 3: Putting the Plan into Action
ASTHO Web Page: Legislative Alerts
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, October 1, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
ALFREDO RAMIREZ:
The expansion of the Contract Tracking System, or CTRAC, to manage the post-award grant functions for that program has been a game-changer, not just for us internally within the department, but for the communities that we serve.
SILVERS:
That's Alfredo Ramirez with the Tennessee Department of Health. As his team found themselves navigating increasingly complex federal and state reporting requirements, it became clear that their existing tools needed an upgrade, leading them to develop CTRAC, a centralized dashboard that houses all of the agency's contracts.
RAMIREZ:
So, now we actually have the ability to have immediate visibility into the status of every contract within a department, whether it's pending approval, awaiting documentation, or actually facing delays in the process.
SILVERS:
Ramirez says PHIG was instrumental in the upgrade.
RAMIREZ:
It provided valuable support in helping us move forward with modernizing our contract tracking and procurement system. Specifically, it allowed us to offset the cost of the platform we utilized to build the actual contract tracking system itself.
SILVERS:
Now, from start to finish, contracts and grants are much more manageable.
RAMIREZ:
What started as a tool for managing the competitive and contract process has evolved into a centralized hub where we're actually able to fully manage the entire grant lifecycle, so, grantees now have real-time visibility into every aspect of their award, from documentation and reporting to actually invoicing and receiving reimbursement through the portal as well.
SILVERS:
In the coming weeks, we will feature another episode that highlights an upgrade to contract management. Make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you find your podcast, so you don't miss it.
Every day, millions of Americans are impacted by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. To help equip the public health system with the tools it needs to support impacted communities, ASTHO has developed a new report titled: From Policy to Practice: Supporting Brain Health and Caregiving at the State Level. ASTHO's Kellie Waugh shares more.
KELLIE WAUGH:
We reviewed state policies and strategies nationwide to create this report, which highlights recent legislative activity and examples of promising strategies to assist state health leaders in supporting brain health and caregivers.
SILVERS:
The report identifies trends across the country and details recommendations for states to explore.
WAUGH:
We saw several prominent themes emerge, including supporting a skilled workforce through education and training, ensuring coordinated state planning, strengthening data collection and utilization, and implementing innovative funding and reimbursement mechanisms.
SILVERS:
Some states focus more on prevention measures.
WAUGH:
And many states, including Colorado, Alaska, Idaho, and Georgia, have crafted creative awareness campaigns aimed at educating the public on how they can reduce their risk for dementia.
SILVERS:
Whatever state's preferred approach may be, Waugh says that a combination of evidence-based strategies and policy measures are essential to progress.
WAUGH:
Policies are how we move from ideas to impact and guarantee that brain health and caregiving will remain public health priorities for years to come.
SILVERS:
You can read the full report online now by visiting ASTHO's website or just head to the show notes. We've got a link right to it.
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 2, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, ASTHO will host the final installment of its succession planning webinar series and show you how to put the plan into action. Walk through how you can implement your plan with a phased approach and how to integrate succession planning into performance reviews. You won't want to miss it. Click on the link in the show notes to register for the event.
Finally, coming up later this week, we'll have more information on the federal government shutdown and how it impacts public health departments across the country. But to make sure you never miss an update, you can sign up for ASTHO's Legislative Alerts. We'll put a link in the show notes.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
