859: HIMSS Global Health Conference, Important Week for Island Areas

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, March 10, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

J.T. LANE: 

It's a gathering of really visionary CIOs, top-level executives from these organizations, dedicated healthcare providers, health-savvy tech professionals, public health professionals, forward-thinking, government officials, innovators, disruptors, so many others.

SILVERS: 

That is ASTHO's, J.T. Lane, describing the attendees of the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition. ASTHO helped kick off this year's event by hosting the first-ever Public Health Forum at the conference.

LANE: 

We are, together as a community, taking a giant step forward to bring public health to the forefront of innovation and data modernization through this public health forum.

SILVERS: 

Several panels also jumped out to Lane.

LANE: 

A panel on modernizing public health data systems that focuses on strategies for state and local transformation, and that session is focusing on how modernization is really pushing healthcare and public health towards more and more digitization of the public health data infrastructure.

SILVERS: 

Lane hopes participants walk away with a sense of 'what could be.'

LANE: 

Take away a real sense of the possibilities out there, and that there is an entire community of brilliant, creative, innovative public and private sector experts that will be part of the grand village that we're going to need to support public health realizing the vision of data modernization.

SILVERS: 

Learn more about the HIMSS Global Health Conference by clicking the link in the show notes.

Kicking off today, ASTHO's Annual Spring Leadership Forum, which is a chance to discuss key policy issues, attend peer learning sessions, and advocate for critical funding on Capitol Hill. As ASTHO's Alex Wheatley tells us, state health officials aren't the only ones who will attend.

ALEX WHEATLEY: 

So, we'll have representation from each of ASTHO's eight territorial and freely associated state members. I think they win for futhest distance traveled, collectively over 46,000 miles.

SILVERS: 

Since our island areas are represented so differently on Capitol Hill, this week is crucial.

WHEATLEY: 

So, this chance to talk with Capitol Hill decision-makers is incredibly important for the islands. I think it's the most valuable part of this week. And during those meetings, I think the priorities this year: emerging concerns around chronic disease or behavioral health or emergency preparedness.

SILVERS: 

It's also a great chance for island areas to talk with each other.

WHEATLEY: 

Even within the islands, I think often the Pacific and the Atlantic don't have a chance to be together in the same space. So, having an opportunity to really engage with the broader blue continent, as well as with state-based representatives and some of the subject matter experts that will be at Spring Leadership Forum.

SILVERS: 

ASTHO also issued a news release about this year's Spring Leadership Forum, which outlines some key priorities for the week. Specifically, ASTHO hopes to highlight the value of federal funding, as well as the looming expiration of federal funding on March 14. You can read the full press release on ASTHO's website. There's a link in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, ASTHO's Board of Directors will also meet today, Monday, March 10, at the Spring Leadership Forum meeting. The board will have strategic discussions on critical public health issues and consider several draft policy statements for approval.

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.