952: PHIG Funding + Data Modernization

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Tuesday, July 22, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Today, another installment of the PHIG Impact Report. Twice a month on this newscast, we have a segment that showcases the Public Health Infrastructure Grant, otherwise known as PHIG, including how your colleagues across the nation are using it and how it's impacting the U.S. public health system. Today, we're talking about the importance of PHIG with Dr. Robert Goldstein, an ASTHO member and the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Dr. Goldstein, let's take a wide view to start. How has your department used PHIG overall?

ROBERT GOLDSTEIN: 

I think it's important for us to start with something pretty amazing about PHIG, which is that it let us do something we had never been able to do before, and that is to build a dedicated data modernization team. So, that is both data modernization and workforce, and it's been a game-changer for us, because we've been able to go from having this patchwork of employees across the department thinking about data modernization to a coordinated statewide strategy to implement data modernization. We've done a lot of work in the years that we've had PHIG funding to do this. One thing that we did is we established an internal data and technology advisory group. That group has helped us think strategically about how we use our resources and how we modernize our data. It's also helped us launch a DPH data library, which helps make our data more accessible and more actionable for people. And we've also used a lot of the funding to support our processes. So, we have something called the Public Health Data Warehouse here in Massachusetts, and that houses a lot of data sets. We've been able to use PHIG funding and our specific efforts around data modernization to do some long-overdue upgrades on the public health data warehouse.

JOHNSON: 

With all that work, I'm sure you've learned a lot. Can you detail any of those lessons for us?

GOLDSTEIN: 

I think probably the major lesson, and perhaps the most sobering lesson that we've taken away from the PHIG grant, is that the goals around recruitment and retention of the PHIG grant are really tough to meet. Given the current federal funding landscape and the way that things are shifting, it's really hard to build a stable workforce when we can't count on stable funding. But with all of that said, I think it's really important for us to recognize one of the strengths of the PHIG grant, and something we've taken away from our implementation, which is the flexibility that PHIG has provided over the past five years has allowed us to have the room that we need to be strategic and nimble and proactive. That kind of sustained, flexible funding, if that were to exist in the future, it really could be transformative for public health departments across the country, in particular here in Massachusetts.

JOHNSON: 

What has PHIG meant to the people of your state?

GOLDSTEIN: 

We took the money from PHIG and we pushed it out to our local public health system. I've talked about this before on this podcast. But in Massachusetts, we have the unique position of having 351 cities and towns and 351 unique local public health departments. We have been using money and using our experience in Massachusetts to try to bring those cities and towns together, and PHIG has let us do that. So one, it allowed us to push money out into the communities so that we can have shared services. Two, it allowed us to build an infrastructure for training, and in so doing, we could then train the local public health workforce that's really been effective in making sure that all of those 351 cities and towns have the resources they need and have the right people in the right place with the right skills. And then the last thing I'll just say that has been really helpful, when we think about the impact that PHIG has had, is that it takes a holistic view of public health and so it sees workforce development, legal resources, fiscal folks, the communications people, all as critical to the work that we're doing at all levels of public health. And PHIG has allowed us to invest at all of those levels, at the local public health department and at the state public health department.

JOHNSON: 

And finally, an influx of public health dollars is always a boost, but what would it mean to be able to support public health infrastructure continually?

GOLDSTEIN: 

I think the bottom line here is that it's it's difficult, it's actually probably impossible, to build a strong public health system with short-term grants. Public health requires funding that— that is there to support the planning, the hiring, the training, the adaptability that is necessary. It's not just funding to respond in a crisis. So, the flexibility of PHIG funding has allowed us to respond to whatever the crisis is, whatever challenge comes our way, whether we're expecting it or not, right? And we know, we all know that public health touches every aspect of life. We can't predict what's going to happen, but we need to make sure that we're there, that we're the safety net, that we're available to respond, and that's what— what sustainable, flexible funding like PHIG allows us to do.

JOHNSON: 

Thank you so much for taking the time to be on the newscast, Dr. Goldstein.

You can learn more about the Public Health Infrastructure Grant and the work that's underway by visiting the PHIG website. We have a link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson, you're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition, have a great day.