Dr. Allison Arwady, director at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC, details a recent webinar focused on mental health and overdose prevention; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, explains..
Dr. Allison Arwady, director at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC, details a recent webinar focused on mental health and overdose prevention; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, explains some of the challenges island jurisdictions face; ASTHO member Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, recently gave a keynote address at the June 2025 Food as Medicine Summit; and on Thursday, July 10, ASTHO will hold the next INSPIRE: Readiness webinar focused on communicating about data and surveillance during infectious disease emergencies.
CDC Web Page: About the Division of Overdose Prevention
ASTHO Blog Article: Public Health Legislation in Island Areas
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, July 9, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
ALLISON ARWADY:
We're specifically bringing together our overdose data to action state and local recipients to talk about the intersection between overdose prevention and mental health. So, opportunities to hear from folks in the field about what this looks like in practice.
SILVERS:
A recent webinar from CDC's Division of Overdose Prevention Technical Assistance Center, or DOPTAC, centered around mental health and overdose prevention. Here is CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Director, Dr. Allison Arwady.
ARWADY:
When we see public health departments work together with behavioral health agencies, when we see folks work across maybe the criminal justice system or community-based organizations, bringing partners together who may sometimes only be thinking about one piece of that topic, it turns out to be a more efficient conversation.
SILVERS:
Arwady says one example of multiple sectors coming together is naloxone distribution.
ARWADY:
In the same way you learn CPR in case someone has a heart attack and what you do in that emergency, helping people know that naloxone is available, how to use it, is something that is very tangible. People really like to learn tangible skills.
SILVERS:
But naloxone distribution can also be an inroad for more harm reduction down the line.
ARWADY:
It's not just the opportunity to teach about naloxone. It's teaching the skills for helping people get into conversations around mental health or substance use that can really end up being more important in some cases than the naloxone distribution itself.
SILVERS:
Learn more about CDC's Division of Overdose Prevention by visiting the link in the show notes.
ASTHO's state health policy team assists members and tracks legislation across the states and territories. They also help with public health challenges unique to Island jurisdictions. ASTHO's Beth Giambrone tells us more.
BETH GIAMBRONE:
There's a lot of access to health care issues where, if someone has an affliction that would require some more advanced medication, they're having to go off-Island to do that, you know, a lot of instances, maybe having to fly to Hawaii to be able to get that care. You know, there's still also a lot of concern about chronic diseases.
SILVERS:
Some priorities in the Island areas also remain quite similar to the priorities throughout the states.
GIAMBRONE:
Within the last year or so, with Island jurisdictions, we've seen legislation on reducing opioid use. We've seen bills on promoting healthy aging to, you know, improve food and nutrition in you know, their jurisdictions. Other bills about, you know, reducing other forms of substance use, not just opioids. So, a lot of what happens in, you know, the territories is still very similar, or exactly the same, as what happens on the mainland.
SILVERS:
Giambrone highlights a few specific bills.
GIAMBRONE:
We've seen, so far, two bills. One- one specifically in Puerto Rico that directs their committee on older adults and social welfare to really start digging deep into what the current state is on individuals, older individuals in Puerto Rico, especially around individuals that are diagnosed with dementia, seeing how you know they're identified, what the accessible services are.
SILVERS:
Giambrone has a new blog article on this subject. You can read it by using the link in the show notes.
ASTHO member, Elizabeth Hertel is the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Hertel recently gave a keynote address at the June 2025 Food as Medicine Summit, where she highlighted Michigan's Food as Medicine approach to health and human services-related systems. Learn more about the summit when you click the link in the show notes.
Finally, tomorrow, on Thursday, July 10, ASTHO will hold its next INSPIRE: Readiness webinar. This one focuses on communicating about data and surveillance during infectious disease emergencies. That will take place at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. More information is 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.
