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Megan Drake-Pereyra, ASTHO advisor for Public Health Infrastructure, says island area agencies are looking to update plans and processes following the pandemic; Arthur U. San Agustin, special assistant to the Office of the Governor, tells us Leaders...
Megan Drake-Pereyra, ASTHO advisor for Public Health Infrastructure, says island area agencies are looking to update plans and processes following the pandemic; Arthur U. San Agustin, special assistant to the Office of the Governor, tells us Leaders in Guam have spent a lot of time working to improve the way they manage small purchase procurement; the CDC has issued a health advisory regarding a federal health care fraud indictment against a telehealth company that provides ADHD treatment; and the ASTHO Leadership Institute is building a new cohort of senior public health leaders interested in strategic professional development.
ASTHO Webpage: ASTHO Leadership Institute
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, June 17, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
MEGAN DRAKE-PEREYRA:
The blog article is about the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Republic of Palau is efforts to prepare for successful public health planning.
JOHNSON:
Public health agencies everywhere are looking to update plans and processes following the pandemic. Island area agencies are among them. This is ASTHO's Megan Drake-Pereyra talking about a blog article that highlights their work.
DRAKE-PEREYRA:
The article shares insights CNMI and Palau gained from using tools to support their planning to plan efforts. These tools include a planning readiness assessment, a sequencing tool, and a team charter tool.
JOHNSON:
Pereyra says often the biggest challenge is making the time to collaborate on plans.
DRAKE-PEREYRA:
Time is what so many wish we had more of and taking this time upfront will hopefully save time throughout the planning processes later. It also builds goodwill and buy-in which is critically important and collaborative efforts such as these.
JOHNSON:
Learn how Island agencies are preparing for successful public health planning. In an article written by Pereyra and ASTHO colleague Joanne Pearsol, the link is in the show notes.
Leaders in Guam have spent a lot of time working to improve the way they handle small purchase procurement. Their goal to avoid sending unused federal dollars back to Washington D.C. Arthur San Agustin is the former director of Guam's health department and an ASTHO alum. He says it was helpful to have everyone involved with procurement at the table working together on a solution.
ARTHUR SAN AGUSTIN:
It was that aha moments sometimes where people were like, Oh, wow, I didn't know you did that. I was like, Oh, just call me, it's like okay, so there was that receptiveness to be processed base. But then you also develop working relationships that are critical because when they say Hey, call me, when you know you're gonna call them.
JOHNSON:
San Agustin says all agencies in Guam likely will benefit from the pilot project.
SAN AGUSTIN:
The hope is that this model can then be replicated and used in other governing Guam agencies that do small purchase procurement.
JOHNSON:
You can hear more about Guam's work in a new episode of the Public Health Review podcast. It's available now. Listen, everywhere you stream audio. There's also a link in the show notes.
A federal health care fraud indictment against a telehealth company that provides ADHD treatment to adult patients could lead to a disruption in treatment for those individuals. The CDC has issued a health advisory worried that the result could be more injury and overdose among the company's patients. As many as 50,000 people ages 18 years and older could be impacted. Read the advisory by clicking the link in the show notes.
Finally, this morning, the ASTHO Leadership Institute is building a new cohort of senior public health leaders interested in strategic professional development. Taban Harrington is the chief of staff at Kentucky's Health Department.
TABAN HARRINGTON:
The experience and what I've learned from it and how it's helped to shape me into the leader. I am now being in my role for a year and a half has really been impactful, not only for me, but the impact has been seen throughout the organization.
JOHNSON:
Harrington enjoyed working with an executive coach and connecting with others who understand the isolation that sometimes comes with a senior level position.
HARRINGTON:
Meeting with a group of fantastic leaders and peers from across the country not only made me feel less alone, but also more confident, and the strategies and the approaches that we're taking. They helped to share some possible pitfalls, things to avoid.
JOHNSON:
July 1 is the deadline to apply for a seat in the next cohort. Learn more about the ASTHO Leadership Institute and submit your application using the link in the show notes.
Before we go a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player and connect with ASTHO on social media. We are on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
