Health Equity Episodes

Feb. 6, 2025

838: Oregon’s Bold Health Goals, Food Deserts

Dr. Sejal Hathi, director of the Oregon Health Authority, tells us that to achieve Oregon’s bold health goals we have to work together; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for State Health Policy, explains how some states are addressing food...
Jan. 23, 2025

828: White House Sepsis Roundtable, AI & PH Webinar

Dr. Jerome Larkin, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, recaps a White House roundtable meeting that focused on sepsis; Meghan Mead, deputy director in the Mid-States Region at the Network for Public Health Law, tells...
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. 21, 2025

826: Rethink Public Health Funding With PHIG

Melissa Magstadt, secretary of health for the South Dakota Department of Health, explains how her state has used Public Health Infrastructure Grant funding to bolster public health.
Jan. 17, 2025

825: National Day of Racial Healing, New Administration Early Priorities

Natasha Harper-Levy, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ASTHO, tells us the importance of racial healing as we get ready to celebrate the National Day of Racial Healing; an ASTHO blog article dives into how you can integrate race and...
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. 14, 2025

822: Shah Steps Down, ASTHO Welcomes New Member

Dr. Umair Shah, secretary of health for the Washington State Department of Health, shares some of his proudest accomplishments as he steps away from his position; Dirk Wilke is the new interim commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Health and...
Jan. 8, 2025

818: Tobacco-Related Disparities, Illegally Manufactured Fentanyl Report

Dr. Kristy Marynak, senior science advisor at the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, details a report on tobacco-related disease and death; Dr. Jean Ko, deputy director at the CDC's Scientific Programs for the Division of Overdose Prevention, discusses a CDC report about overdose rates involving i…
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. 18, 2024

813: Enhance PH Workforce Retention, PH Kiosk Project Launch

Allison Budzinski, ASTHO senior workforce analyst, tells us small and important steps to support the public health workforce; Shane Gausepohl, communications and equity coordinator for Del Norte County Public Health, explains the Community Health...
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...
Dec. 11, 2024

808: Infectious Disease Legislative Prospectus, Fifth DELPH Cohort Begins

Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and an ASTHO Member, discusses the containment and prevention of the spread of infectious disease as part of ASTHO’s Legislative Prospectus Series; Allyson...
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. 25, 2024

798: Public Health Thank You Day

Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president and state health officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health and Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, share their thoughts on Public Health Thank You Day; and Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American...
Nov. 22, 2024

797: Health Equity Institute Launch, Community Design Supports Healthy Aging

Dr. Awele Maduka-Ezeh, medical director for the Delaware Division of Public Health, details the launch of the Health Equity Institute of Delaware; Ken Rose, branch chief for the Physical Activity and Health Program in the Division of Nutrition,...
Nov. 20, 2024

795: Psychology Diversity, Rulemaking Improvements

Dr. Charmain Jackman, licensed psychologist and founder and CEO of InnoPsych, tells us how InnoPsych plans to diversify the psychology workforce; Tami Thompson, Regulatory Affairs manager at the Washington State Department of Health, discusses how...
Nov. 19, 2024

794: Inaugural PHIG Impact Report Features Kentucky Success

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and ASTHO’s immediate past president, tells us how his state is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to improve the state of public health in Kentucky, in the first PHIG Impact Report segment; ASTHO...
Nov. 15, 2024

792: States Assist McDonald’s E. coli Outbreak, Latest National Youth Tobacco Survey

Rachel Jervis, Foodborne, Enteric, Waterborne, and Wastewater Diseases program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, discusses how Colorado played a key role in the response to the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak; Joshua...
Nov. 7, 2024

787: Racism Affects Youth, Epidemiology Assessment Bears Mixed Results

Dr. James Huynh, assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses what the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey says about racism; Sarah Auer, program analyst for the...
Nov. 6, 2024

786: CDC’s “Hear Her” Campaign for Maternal Health, PHIG Funds Leadership Program

Dr. Wanda Barfield, director of the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the “Hear Her” campaign that aims to help the national maternal mortality crisis; Cynthia Naasira Taylor, leadership...
Nov. 5, 2024

785: Vaccination Coverage Decreases, OTC Birth Control Rule Change

Lori Freeman, chief executive officer for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, discusses a new report from the CDC outlining the decline in required vaccine coverage among kindergartners; and Brittany Lee, ASTHO director of...
Nov. 4, 2024

784: PHIG Helps Data Modernization Initiatives, STRETCH 2.0 Lessons Learned

Gayatri Raol, data modernization director at the Illinois Department of Public Health, outlines how the Public Health Infrastructure Grant is helping her department; Alicia Camuy, with Health Career Connection, wrote a blog article about the...
Oct. 31, 2024

782: Maternal Mortality Crisis Gets National Attention, Zink Still Educating

Laura Ungar, science and medical writer on the Global Health and Science Team for the Associated Press, discusses the two articles she wrote about the maternal mortality crisis; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO past president and Alaska’s former chief medical...
Oct. 30, 2024

781: Disaster Effects on Children, DELPH Applications Due

Dr. Dan Dodgen, Senior Advisor for the Office of Strategy Policy and Requirements in the Office of the Administrator for Strategic Preparedness and Response at HHS, discusses the importance of a recent listening session focused on the effect of...