Disability And Preparedness Episodes

May 15, 2025

907: Suicide Capacity Assessment, Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Alex Karydi, states and territories initiatives director at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, details a recent assessment from SPRC that looked at the ability of states and territories to prevent suicide successfully; Emily Lapayowker, ASTHO’s assistant director of web content, uses Global Ac…
May 5, 2025

899: Preventing Lead Exposure, Disability Definition

Brian Weaver, lead policy advisor at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, tells us about an emergency rule to strengthen standards that protect children from lead exposure; Annie Evans, ASTHO’s director of preparedness, discusses a recent...
April 22, 2025

890: Remembering Mary Selecky, Take Down Tobacco Day

Dr. John Wiesman, Associate Dean for Practice at UNC Chapel Hill, remembers his former mentor, Mary Selecky, who passed away on April 7; Finn Lanning, Youth Tobacco Prevention Coordinator for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, tells us...
Oct. 3, 2024

763: Reframing National Preparedness Month, ASTHO Management Vendor Showcase

Dr. John Anderton, associate director for communication science at the CDC's Office of Readiness and Response, tells us how the CDC has changed their approach to National Preparedness Month; Brian Lentes, senior director for Public Health...
July 25, 2024

714: Accessible Healthcare For People With Disabilities, Avian Influenza Update

Dr. Audrey Juhasz, researcher at the Institute for Disability Research, Policy, and Practice, explains a project she is working on that is focused on accessible healthcare for people with disabilities; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer,...
July 23, 2024

712: Preparing for Tornadoes, Helping People with Disabilities During Emergencies

Dr. Kristina Kintziger, associate professor and the associate director of the Water, Climate, and Health program at the University of Nebraska, explains the long-term community impacts of a tornado; Nassira Nicola, deputy director for Access and...
June 26, 2024

693: Lit Scan Examines Workforce Diversity, Vaccination Barriers Impact People with Disabilities

Dr. Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Health Foundation, discusses a scan of literature focused on diversity to encourage people to consider work in public health; Dr. Nassira Nicola, deputy director for Access and Inclusion in the...
May 16, 2024

666: Digital Accessibility, Research Guides Healthy Aging Work

Derek Olson, web content manager for the Washington State Department of Health, tells us the importance of digital access and inclusion; Emily Lapayowker, assistant director of Web at ASTHO, says ASTHO has systems to ensure its online products are...
April 29, 2024

653: HPAI National Symposium, 30 Days of Public Health

A national symposium on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, moderated by ASTHO CEO Dr. Joseph Kanter and attended by many ASTHO members, discussed many aspects of the virus; Dr. Janice Phillips, assistant director at the Illinois Department of Public...
March 13, 2024

620: Prepping for a Wave of Seniors, Listeria Response Relies on Communication

Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, worries the U.S. isn’t ready to accommodate the coming wave of seniors with disabilities; Jennifer Botsford, bureau chief for the Bureau of Environmental Health Services at the...
Nov. 9, 2023

542: Veterans Face Health Disparities, Island Areas Examine Indirect Cost Rates

Charity Menefee, lieutenant colonel and public health officer in the Tennessee Air National Guard and the director of the Division of Public Health at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, highlights the connections between her public...
Nov. 2, 2023

537: Presidential Reflections, Medicaid Successes

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska Chief Medical Officer and ASTHO Immediate Past President, reflects on her time at the head of the organization; Dr. Susan Kansagra (SHO-NC), North Carolina Assistant Public Health Secretary, says her agency...
Sept. 1, 2023

495: Power Outage Toolkit, Alpha-Gal Syndrome Explained

Eric Cote, founder of Power Outage Partners, explains how the ASTHO Power Outage tool kit can help prevent life-threatening situations; Elizabeth Schiffman, supervisor of the Vector-Borne Disease Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health, says it’s...
Aug. 2, 2023

473:  Rethinking Rural Immunization Strategies, Expanding Mental Health Coverage

Melissa Magstadt, Cabinet Secretary for the South Dakota Department of Health, says healthcare must meet patients where they live; Ali Maffey, ASTHO’s Vice President of Social and Behavioral Health, explains approaches to making mental healthcare...
July 31, 2023

471: Disability Equity Tools, ASTHO Wins Vaccine and Preparedness Awards

Adrianna Evans, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, outlines how public health ethics committees help guide preparedness; Kurell Julien, Associate Director of Equity, Inclusion and Justice at Business for Social...
June 7, 2023

436: Disability Inclusion Steps, Healthy People 2030 Champions

Annie Evans, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, previews an article she wrote for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice about disability inclusion in health agencies; Carter Blakey, Deputy Director of the...
April 10, 2023

395: Invisible Disabilities, Is PH Ready or Not?

On Day Six of National Public Health Week, Dr. Alexis Travis, former Senior Deputy Director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says accessibility accommodations must continually evolve to be effective; Dr. J. Nadine Gracia,...
Feb. 6, 2023

351: A Reporter’s Drug Strategy, Childcare is Public Health

Julie Wernau, Health and Science Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, has spent the last year reporting on the opioid crisis and offers some advice for public health; Shannon Vance, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Family & Child Health, says the difficulty...
Feb. 3, 2023

350: Disability Etiquette, Self-Care Tips for Staff

Dawn Skaggs, the Emergency, Disaster and Climate Resilience Specialist at World Institute on Disability, will help lead an ASTHO training event on Monday that will ask attendees to develop more equitable approaches in their work to support people...
Oct. 26, 2022

291: Vermont’s New “Facing Suicide” Campaign

Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, discusses the state’s new Facing Suicide VT campaign, which focuses on encouraging people to discuss the issue of suicide; ASTHO is working with states and territories to highlight...
Oct. 20, 2022

287: New Disability Preparedness Toolkit

Dawn Skaggs, Emergency, Disaster, and Climate Resilience Specialist for the World Institute on Disability, promotes a new Public Health Emergency Planning Toolkit to help agencies better serve people living with disabilities during emergencies; Lillie...
Sept. 30, 2022

274: Disaster Planning Tools

Annie Evans, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, talks about two tools that examine the needs of people living with disabilities who suffer disproportionate impacts of disasters; Dr. Kristina Box, State Health Commissioner...
Aug. 5, 2022

235: Public Health is Underfunded

Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, discusses the organization’s latest report addressing the impact of chronic underfunding on the nation’s public health system; Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey, and others are...
July 29, 2022

230: Filling the Workforce Pipeline

Dr. Laura Parajon, Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Health at the New Mexico Department of Health, discusses a new internship program that helps students understand why they might have an interest in a public health career; Eric Cote, an ASTHO Consultant,...