Healthcare Access Episodes

Aug. 29, 2024

739: New Maternal Health Dashboards, Urine Tests Look for Chemicals in Minnesota Kids

Dr. Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and an ASTHO Member, discusses her state’s updated data dashboards; Dr. Jessica Nelson, program director and epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health,...
Aug. 26, 2024

736: Flexibility Helps Indiana Funding Succeed, New Health in All Policies Evaluation Tool

Dr. Lindsay Weaver, state health commissioner of Indiana, discusses the state’s record investment in public health; an ASTHO blog article details behavioral health-related workforce initiatives happening across the states and territories; and ASTHO...
Aug. 7, 2024

723: Certified Wellness Coaches, AZ Reach

Ben Gamache, policy consultant for the Office of Health Workforce Development at the Department of Health Care Access and Information, explains why California has created a new position; Dr. Lisa Villarroel, chief medical officer for Public Health at...
May 28, 2024

673: ASTHO Reports New PH Policies, Behavioral Health Urgent Care Centers

Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health Policy, updates us on public health policy updates from state legislatures across the country; Kody Kinsley, North Carolina secretary of Health and Human Services, says North Carolina will continue to build...
April 12, 2024

642: Black Maternal Health Week, PH Appropriations Book

Chemyeeka Tumblin, a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in perinatal and maternal mental health, outlines the importance of Black Maternal Health Week; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO's senior director for government affairs, discusses ASTHO’s...
April 9, 2024

639: Workforce Pipeline Progress, Strategies to Reduce Congenital Syphilis

AJ Pearlman, director of Public Health AmeriCorps, says more than 4-thousand people are learning about public health as part of the program; Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, and Dr. Debra Bogen, acting secretary of...
April 5, 2024

637: Silos Hamper Reproductive Health Work, Quitline Expands

Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, says silos can hinder access to reproductive and sexual health care; Dr. Daniel Edney, state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of...
April 2, 2024

634: Lead Initiatives Benefit Colorado Kids, PH Infrastructure Gets Boost

Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and an ASTHO member, tells us healthy neighborhoods are the focus on day two of National Public Health Week; Dr. Nizar Wehbi, North Dakota State Health...
March 21, 2024

626: Island Heart Health, 2024 Preparedness Summit

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, tells us ASTHO continues to focus on improving heart health in our island areas; Lisa Peterson, ASTHO senior director for preparedness, discusses the upcoming 2024 Preparedness Summit; and an ASTHO...
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...
March 12, 2024

619: Review Food Safety Policies, New Misinformation Toolkit

Dr. Susan Kansagra, assistant secretary for public health in North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO member, tells us how the tenacity of one inspector caused an investigation that uncovered lead-contaminated applesauce packets in North Carolina; Dr. Tara Kirk...
Feb. 29, 2024

611: Harm Reduction Strategies, A Recruiter Calls Mike Fraser

Dr. Kaitlan Baston, ASTHO Member and acting commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, discusses a new law in New Jersey that decriminalizes many harm reduction supplies; Andra Samoa, a Department of Health consultant and liaison, wants...
Jan. 17, 2024

581: Policies Connect Health Care and PH Funding Tips

Brianna Gorman, ASTHO analyst for Performance Excellence, explains ways to connect public health and health care in communities; Dr. Lindsay Weaver, ASTHO member and state health commissioner for the Indiana Department of Health, tells us how Indiana...
Oct. 25, 2023

531: RSV Vaccine Pitch, Virus Disparities

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, wants public health to focus on medical providers as the primary way to promote the RSV vaccine; an ASTHO blog article explains why public health readiness during the respiratory virus season is key; an...
Oct. 2, 2023

515: Menthol Messaging, Retail Food Safety Grants

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, offers public health agencies three talking points they can use when the tobacco industry tries to argue against proposed bans on flavored tobacco products; Dr. Alison Evans Cuellar, Chair of the...
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...
Aug. 30, 2023

493: Substance Use During Pregnancy, Partnering with the Youth Justice System

Sowmya Kuruganti, Analyst with ASTHO’s Family and Child Health Team, discusses disturbing numbers surrounding overdose-related deaths among pregnant and postpartum people; Shelby McCulley, Director of the Bureau of Youth Services at the Wisconsin...
Aug. 23, 2023

488: PH Workforce Consortium, Maternal Health Disparities

JP Leider, Director of the Center for Public Health Systems at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, explains the importance of the Consortium for Workforce Research and Public Health; Nancy Scotto Rosato, Assistant Commissioner of...
Aug. 21, 2023

486: Over-the-Counter Naloxone, Hurricane Partnerships

Richa Ranade, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Overdose Prevention, says ASTHO’s policy statement on over-the-counter naloxone supports increasing access; Chris Medina, State Medical Operations Center Director at the Texas Department of State Health...
Aug. 14, 2023

481: Syphilis Drug Shortage, Maternal and Child Health Priorities

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, Professor of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, describes how drug shortages are making it tough to treat syphilis; Jazmyn Covington, ASTHO Director of Maternal and Infant...
Aug. 11, 2023

480: RSV Messaging, Emergency Contraception

Hear from the experts who participated in an ASTHO online briefing on the coming RSV season; Sophia Durant, ASTHO’s Analyst of Family and Child Health, says access to emergency contraception is a health equity issue; and an ASTHO virtual session...
Aug. 7, 2023

476: Urging Calm Over COVID-19 Numbers, Health and Social Systems Alignment

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, shares the current COVID-19 status and a look ahead into the coming seasons; Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president elect and the Commissioner for Public Health for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, outlines...
Aug. 3, 2023

474: Overdose Strategies, Pregnancy Risk Data

Victoria Pless, ASTHO’s Assistant Director of Social and Behavioral Health, explains recommendations states can use to reduce overdoses; Stephany Strahle, with ASTHO’s Family and Child Health team, says updating public health surveillance systems...
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...