Environmental Health Episodes

June 12, 2025

926: Data to Reduce Heat Injuries, Public Health Rumors

Dr. James McDonald, ASTHO member and commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, discusses the State’s Heat Risk and Illness Dashboard and how it can reduce heat-related injury; Dr. Tara Kirk Sell, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security...
May 21, 2025

911: Admin. Preparedness Key In Emergencies, Mosquito Control Trends

Julia McIlroy, procurement content manager for the National Association of State Procurement Officials, discusses administrative preparedness for public health emergencies...
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 30, 2025

896: Get To Know ASTHO, PH in the Classroom

Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, begins the new “Get To Know ASTHO” series, which will highlight different experts at ASTHO; Madison Yerges, section supervisor for the student education section at the Center for Foundational Health, part of the...
April 25, 2025

893: Youth Behavioral Health, CHWs in Island Areas

Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and an ASTHO member, explains how his state is taking action for youth behavioral health; Aurora GrantWingate, member and partner engagement manager at the National Association of...
April 8, 2025

880: ASTHO BCAH Program, New 2025 Model of Health

Kilah Walters-Clinton, director of race, equity, and community engagement for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services in Rhode Island, explains how ASTHO’s Building Capacity to Advance Health Certificate Program has helped dozens across...
March 4, 2025

855: PHIG Funding Breaks Down Silos

Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo, senior deputy director for public health administration and the state epidemiologist for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, tells us how the unique ability to use PHIG across sectors helps break down silos in the latest PHIG Impact Report.
Feb. 27, 2025

852: Lassa Fever Response, Suicide Rates See Decline

Dr. Robert Kruse, state medical director and the division director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO Member, tells us about his state’s response to a confirmed case of Lassa fever; Clarie Miller, lead suicide...
Feb. 18, 2025

845: The Multiple Uses of PHIG

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, secretary of health for the Maryland Department of Health, explains how her team used the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to fund a myriad of initiatives in the latest PHIG Impact Report.
Feb. 14, 2025

844: Data Modernization Citizens Can Use, Indoor Air Quality

Wesley Kortuem, data analytics section lead at the Arizona Department of Health Services, explains how his team created a comprehensive public health data portal; Abraham Kulungara, senior director for Environmental Health at ASTHO, updates us on the...
Jan. 30, 2025

833: PH Communication Outlook, Firearm Injury Prevention

Robert Jennings, executive director of the National Public Health Information Coalition, gives an outlook for public health communication; Caitlin Langhorn Griffith, ASTHO director of Injury, Suicide, and Violence Prevention, discusses a blog article...
Jan. 22, 2025

827: Alpha-Gal Syndrome Interest, New Congress Priorities

Courtney Anderson, a director with ASTHO’s Environmental Health Team, discusses a blog article on alpha-gal syndrome that was one of ASTHO’s most popular resources of 2024; Catherine Murphy, government affairs analyst for ASTHO, uses past...
Jan. 16, 2025

824: AHEAD Model, NEMA Hurricane Response Webinar

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, secretary of health for the Maryland Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, tells us how Maryland was the first state to sign on to the AHEAD Model released by CMS; Jessica Byrski, senior policy analyst for the National...
Jan. 13, 2025

821: Winter Weather Safety Campaign, Senior Deputy & CFO Meeting Invaluable

Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, deputy secretary for Public Health at the Maryland Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, discusses Maryland’s Winter Weather Safety campaign; and Dr. Tobi Adeyeye Amosun, deputy commissioner for Population Health for the...
Jan. 6, 2025

816: New Office of Healthy Aging, Vape Devices with Video Games

Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and an ASTHO member, tells us why his team decided to create an Office of Healthy Aging; Dr. Jennifer Unger, a professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University...
Dec. 17, 2024

812: SAPHE 2.0 Promotes Equity, ASTHO President Weighs In On Bird Flu

Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and an ASTHO Member, describes how SAPHE 2.0 will promote health equity throughout the state; Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama state health officer and ASTHO president, is...
Nov. 27, 2024

800: Hemp’s Hazy Status, Climate Change Impacts Health Equity

Christina Severin, ASTHO’s director of Public Health Law, dives into the ins and outs of the status of hemp; Linda Helland, manager of California’s Climate Change and Health Equity Branch at the California Department of Public Health, tells us...
Nov. 26, 2024

799: Climate Change & Health Equity Partners, ASTHO's Alzheimer's Work

Linda Helland, manager of the Climate Change and Health Equity Branch in the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health, tells us how the California Department of Public Health is working to incorporate health equity into...
Nov. 8, 2024

788: Honoring Veterans in Public Health, Public Health Planning Learning Community

Dr. Kenneth Fink, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, an ASTHO member and a retired Air Force colonel, tells us how the military prepared him for his role in public health; Sara Bell, ASTHO senior analyst for Public Health Systems and...
Nov. 1, 2024

CMO Plescia Steps Away; Harris Sees Large Role for Public Health

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, is stepping away from ASTHO after seven years in the position; Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health and ASTHO president, says the next few years are...
Oct. 23, 2024

776: Stack Reflects on ASTHO Presidency, Improving Recruitment and Retention in Public Health

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and current ASTHO President, tells us about ASTHO’s upcoming leadership transition; Madison Novosel, North Dakota’s Lead Program coordinator discusses the program’s new...
Oct. 11, 2024

769: Oropouche Response Plan, DELPH Applications Open Now

Dr. Roxanne Connelly, entomology and ecology team lead in the Arboviral Diseases Branch of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at the CDC, tells us about the CDC’s response plan for Oropouche Virus; Latoya Sahadeo, ASTHO’s Leadership Development...
Oct. 10, 2024

768: EEE Smart Scheduling, ASTHO DPHP Meeting Takeaways

Suzanne Bornschein, Rhode Island State Epidemiologist, outlines Rhode Island’s approach to combating Eastern Equine Encephalitis; Francesca Provenzano, Public Health Section Chief with the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, tells us...
Sept. 18, 2024

752: EPA Wastewater Gap Initiative, New PH Warehouse Expansion

Zach Lowenstein, program manager with the EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, discusses the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap initiative; Jon Lujan, public health emergency preparedness program manager for the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services, details the...