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Sharon Gilmartin, the new executive director of Safe States Alliance, discusses her new position and her goals for the organization; John Auerbach, senior vice president for public health at ICF and a speaker at the upcoming STRETCH 2.0 national convening,...
Sharon Gilmartin, the new executive director of Safe States Alliance, discusses her new position and her goals for the organization; John Auerbach, senior vice president for public health at ICF and a speaker at the upcoming STRETCH 2.0 national convening, tells us what to expect from the January 29 meeting; the ASTHO PROFILE survey aims to help you hire great informatics staff to take your organization to the next level; and ASTHO has several resources on rulemaking that could assist your public health department.
ASTHO Web Page: Joint and Affiliate Councils
ASTHO Webinar: Centering Community-Led Strategies to Sustainable Public Health Financing
Health Affairs Article: The Community As A Full Partner – A New Model For Public Health
ASTHO PROFILE Page: Hiring informatics staff is hard— a career series helps
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, January 27, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
SHARON GILMARTIN:
I have had the pleasure of serving Safe States already for over a decade. So, the overarching thing that excites me is that I get to continue to work with the amazing people that I already do.
SILVERS:
Sharon Gilmartin is the brand new executive director of Safe States Alliance, an association that represents injury and violence prevention practitioners across the country. Safe States Alliance is part of ASTHO's Affiliate Council.
GILMARTIN:
I have very much enjoyed partnering with other organizations over the years, but getting to make that a more intentional focus is something that I'm really looking forward to.
SILVERS:
Gilmartin says two things specifically spoke to her about injury and violence prevention to make her want to pursue the field as a career.
GILMARTIN:
One is that injury and violence prevention is an underdog in the public health space, in the sense that funding is just really disproportionate to the burden. And the other part that is near and dear to my heart is that injury and violence, they're really tied to these deep-rooted social systems and structures.
SILVERS:
While Gilmartin has several priorities, one of the most important is working with legislators.
GILMARTIN:
Spending time in Washington, engaging in discussions around public health, educating policy-makers on the critical value of prevention work, and specifically injury and violence prevention work, and keeping those initiatives a priority on the national stage.
SILVERS:
Learn more about ASTHO's Affiliate Council and Safe States Alliance by clicking the links in the show notes.
This week, on Wednesday, January 29, the Strategies To Repair Equity and Transform Community Health, or STRETCH, 2.0 initiative will host its fourth national meeting. At the meeting, speakers will address structural barriers that hinder advancement in government public health. John Auerbach from ICF is one of those speakers.
JOHN AUERBACH:
The goal is to have a sort of a roll up our sleeves, let's get very practical and specific. We don't just want an academic listing of what needs to get done. We want to know concretely and specifically, what are the necessary steps and how to get there.
SILVERS:
Auerbach says the speakers will not only share their experiences, but also took time to survey public health officials and community health workers to weigh in on their issues.
AUERBACH:
We will share the information that we found from those surveys, as well as from the experience we've had, the four of us have had professionally, and then we will share the recommendations that come out of the gathering of that information, and ask people if those resonate with them.
SILVERS:
Auerbach adds that although there are some questions about funding, we must continue to push forward.
AUERBACH:
I think that the fear is that because we're in a period of time where there are going to be likely budgetary cuts to public health and continuing politicization or criticisms of public health, folks may feel like it's just not the moment we can do this, we just have to put this off for another time period: and that would be a big mistake.
SILVERS:
Auerbach and his colleagues also wrote an article on the topic in HealthAffairs. You can read the full article and sign up for that webinar today. Both of those links are in the show notes.
Also, an ASTHO resource aims to help you hire great informatics staff to take your organization to the next level. It's called the PROFILE survey, and you can find it onASTHO's website, just click the link in the show notes.
Finally, this morning, rule-making is something your department should be thinking about. O'Keyla Cooper explains.
O'KEYLA COOPER:
Health departments play a key role in advancing public health by creating laws through rule-making. These laws impact areas such as food safety and disease control. Learn more about the rule-making process and access ASTHO-related resources by clicking the link in the show notes.
SILVERS:
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.
