387: Women Leading ASTHO, Attending TechXpo

ROBERT JOHNSON:

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, March 29th, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

KIMBERLEE WYCHE-ETHERIDGE:

It's so important to focus on women's history and we know that women's history is a 365, not just a one month thing, but similar to Black History Month when we really do need to bring attention to the goals or rather the inputs that women have made in history.

JOHNSON:

Ask those Dr. Kimberlee Wyche Etheridge, celebrating Women's History Month with a blog article about the many women who've led ASTHO, including current president Dr. Anne Zink and recent former presidents doctors, Rachel Levine and Nicole Alexander-Scott.

WYCHE-ETHERIDGE:

If you think of some of the work that Dr. Alexandra-Scott spearheaded in Rhode Island, around health equity zones, and really looking at the importance of place, and health, and why your zip code shouldn't dictate your health outcomes and really looking at how do we invest in communities, it really has been a public health game changer in that way. And of course, Dr. Zink, being the first one, I'm gonna say semi post-pandemic president, and really helping us to move beyond the initial COVID response into what is life look like after COVID, even though you know, COVID is not gone.

JOHNSON:

Dr. Levine also championed equity during her time leading ASTHO and continues that work as the nation's Assistant Secretary for Health.

WYCHE-ETHERIDGE:

And until we're able to achieve equity for all populations, regardless of color, regardless of religion, regardless of where you live, regardless of what language you speak, or any of the other things that seem to have been targeted to separate us, then we don't have health equity in this country. So really, it is health equity for all what do we need to do to be able to afford everyone to live to their greatest health potential.

JOHNSON:

You can read a new blog article about the women who've led ASTHO over the years. There's a link in the show notes.

Seats are going fast for this year's ASTHO Public Health TechXpo and Futures Forum planned as a hybrid event in Chicago and online. Jamie Pina is ASTHO's Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics. We saw him at the ASTHO Spring Meeting a few weeks ago and got this update about the event.

You are a little busy right now helping to put together ask those annual TechXpo event this year, a hybrid event in Chicago so you can go or you can join online. Tell us a little bit about what's on your mind as it relates to this event coming up in May.

JAMIE PINA:

Yeah, thanks. I'm just really excited about the event. We have a number of really excellent sponsors, who have been generous and are showing their support for the critical work of the field of public health by providing sponsorship so that we can, you know, host the event make it as impactful as possible and really demonstrate the forward momentum we have in the areas of data modernization and informatics in public health.

This year, some of our sponsors include Palantir, Amazon Web Services, Guidehouse, and Maximus and Google Health. And we're really thankful to them for their partnership. It's been really a wonderful experience to discuss with them what they would bring to the event, what they want to share with the public health community, and what the public health community can expect from them as participants in this whole data modernization effort.

JOHNSON:

And people working in public health IT are interested in being around these people because they see them online, maybe they read articles they're quoted, but they don't get a chance to maybe talk to them in person or see them up close and feel what it is they're saying to us. And this is one of the benefits of going to an event like this as you can be in the same room.

PINA:

Yeah, absolutely. You know, in addition to all of our sponsors, we also have speakers that have agreed to come and participate in the conference and give their perspectives. We have leadership coming from, you know, multiple levels. We have folks who will speak from industry, we have folks that will speak from the national and federal perspectives.

Last year, we had extremely high caliber participants speaking like Mickey Tripathi and Karen DiSalvo. And this year, we're excited to release the list of speakers who are of equal caliber and are really thinking to offer some really essential feedback to the public health practice community about how to move forward with our efforts to improve our national data architecture.

JOHNSON:

And a lot of that news will be coming out as it is solidified here over the next several weeks right up until the time of the event. What is the best selling point then in your mind at this point for someone to register for this event make their plan wants to be there with you in Chicago in May?

PINA:

Yeah, right, the event is going to have, you know, just so many people who are dedicated to the area of data modernization and informatics in the field of public health. I mean, that is one of the key areas that the meeting is dedicated to. And I think if you're interested in that work, or if the work that you do is impacted by data, or the data infrastructure that we have nationally, this is a place to come and learn what's going to be happening the next few years, and to really get the perspective of the leaders that are making decisions about all of these things.

And on you know, on a personal note, it's been a real joy over the last several months to work with our sponsors and speakers, to kind of align the material that they're bringing to the conference, to the public health practice community, it's one of the roles ASTHO plays is helping them to revise their content, and helping them to craft messages that will really resonate with the attendees. So I think between us helping them to align their messaging, and all of the insight and knowledge and experience they bring, we're set up to have a really exciting event that's going to, I think, inform a lot of people in a really unique and interesting way.

JOHNSON:

And there's a need to get in the loop on all of this it because the infrastructure investment right now is at historic levels. You need to know what's going on in this world so that you can make the right investments you can learn that here.

PINA:

Absolutely. There's lots of momentum nationally, both in terms of the resources we're distributing, and in terms of the visibility that the area of informatics and data monetization are getting. And because of that added visibility, there's a really profound need to stay on top of the new actions that are being taken, and the new directions that are everyone is headed in. So I think that a conference like this at this particular time is really critical.

JOHNSON:

Registration is now open. But if you can't make it to the event in Chicago in late May, you can join us virtually get more information and sign up using the link in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, ASTHO alum Dr. Jose Romero is recognized as a leadership trailblazer in a new ASTHO video now online. Romero is the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, but we also remember his work in Arkansas. You can watch the video using the link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.