Federal Policy Episodes

Jan. 22, 2024

584: Violence Prevention Work Gets Attention, First Responders Connect Via Telemedicine Link

Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer of the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services, tells us about a recent meeting with officials from the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention;...
Jan. 19, 2024

583: Infectious Disease Docs Wanted, Congress Grapples With Funding Deadline

Congressman Raul Ruiz, from California’s 25th District who is also a doctor, worries there aren’t enough doctors trained to deal with infectious diseases; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Relations,...
Oct. 20, 2023

528: Flexible Climate Funding, New Federal Budget Deadline

State Public Health Officials Dr. Umair Shah, Dr. Joseph Kanter, and Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, discuss the public health impacts of climate change; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, discusses hot...
Sept. 29, 2023

514: Telehealth Offers Options, Weekend Shutdown Looms

Kyle Zebley, Senior Vice President of the American Telemedicine Association, explains the benefits of telehealth; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, explains what ASTHO members should know about the...
Sept. 28, 2023

513: Menthol Ban Lessons, Retail Food Safety Networks

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, shares the challenges facing plans to ban tobacco flavorings; Dr. David McSwane, Executive Director of the Conference for Food Protection, explains the collaborative work of CFP and NACCHO to...
Sept. 26, 2023

511: Maternal Equity Study, Shutdown Budget Impacts

Dr. Jennifer Tang, a Professor of OB-GYN at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, calls for better solutions to maternal health inequities; a new ASTHO blog article examines the impact of rural hospital closures on pregnant people and...
Sept. 22, 2023

509: Bundling Vaccinations, Hoping to Avoid a Government Shutdown

Dr. Gillian SteelFisher, Director of Global Polling at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, says promoting the flu, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines together help broaden the appeal; Dr. Jennifer Shuford, Commissioner for the Texas Department of State...
Sept. 15, 2023

504: Creative Vaccine Events, Congress Faces Two September Deadlines

Dr. Armando De Alba Rosales, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, shares creative strategies to boost vaccine uptake among Hispanic communities; a CDC campaign aims to boost...
Sept. 8, 2023

499: Equity Strategies Cohort Forming, Federal Shutdown Looms

Jessica Fepelstein, ASTHO Analyst of State and Community Engagement, explains the work the ASTHO Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health (STRETCH) Initiative is doing to promote health equity; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice...
Sept. 7, 2023

498: Extreme Heat Ideas, Updated Healthy Aging Policy

Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) at the CDC, explains the CDC’s work to address extreme heat; Dr. Ihsan Azzam, Chief Medical Officer...
Aug. 4, 2023

475: Health Data Modernization, Senate Appropriations Bill

ASTHO President Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for the State of Alaska, says policy is the biggest challenge facing public health data modernization; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations,...