Naloxone Episodes

On today's episode, Justa Encarnacion, ASTHO member and commissioner of health for the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health, shared how island jurisdictions are tackling some of the nation’s toughest health challenges using real-time data, advanced training, and wastewater surveillance.

Fatal overdoses are rising among adults 45 and older and stigma often keeps this age group out of the conversation. In this episode, Dr. Philip Chan, consultant medical director at the Rhode Island Department of Health and a practicing primary care physician, discusses Rhode Island’s 'No Matter Why You Use' campaign.

As behavioral health and overdose crises continue to strain health systems, states are rethinking how and where care is delivered. In this episode, Dr. Jerome Larkin, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and an ASTHO member, explains how youth-focused mobile response and stabilization services provide rapid, in-home crisis care and keep children out of emergency departments and reduce the need for hospitalization. The conversation explores why Rhode Island moved to require insurance coverage for these services and how states can sustain them amid funding uncertainty. Later, ASTHO Senior Director of Overdose Prevention, Richa Ranade, discusses the evolving policy landscape around naloxone, including efforts to expand access in schools, libraries, and other public spaces to prevent overdose deaths.

New research out of New York shows that naloxone didn’t just save more than 6,500 lives in two years—it delivered one of the most dramatic returns on investment in public health. In this episode, Dr. James McDonald, ASTHO member and commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, breaks down the first statewide health-economic evaluation of naloxone administration.

On this Public Health Thank You Day, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, joins us to share encouraging news from the front lines of public health. Thanks to increased partnerships with birthing hospitals and the rollout of monoclonal antibodies for infants and the maternal RSV vaccine, infant RSV hospitalizations dropped nearly 30–40% last season, one of the most significant improvements in years. Dr. Kansagra also discusses a major decline in overdose deaths, driven by expanded community partnerships, naloxone distribution, peer support specialists, and innovative response programs...

Dr. Edward Simmer, ASTHO member and interim director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, celebrates the department’s one-year anniversary with a recap of their achievements, including the highest health ranking in the state’s history; Dr. Bryant Thomas Karras, the Washington State Department of Health’s chief medical informatics officer,...

Madison Hluchan, ASTHO assistant director of Medicaid and value-based payment, details how a new ASTHO resource can help your team with the Rural Health Transformation Program; and JoAnne Deehr, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, shares prevention and response policies to reduce overdoses involving synthetic opioids.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, ASTHO member and chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, explains how Michigan’s multifaceted approach has reduced overdose deaths across the state; Heidi Westermann, director of public health data modernization and informatics at ASTHO...

Aileen Benavente-Pangelinan, environmental health program manager at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, describes how the new food code adopted by the Northern Mariana Islands will improve public health safety; Jessica Hulsey, founder and CEO of the Addiction Policy Forum, explains...

Dr. Allison Arwady, director at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC, details a recent webinar focused on mental health and overdose prevention; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, explains..

Kelly Dougherty, deputy commissioner at the Vermont Department of Health, shares how drug testing has helped reduce the state’s opioid overdose deaths; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s senior director for government affairs, breaks down this week’s View From Washington, D.C. report on public health news from Capitol Hill; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, shares how he works with legislators to improve public health

Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO; Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president; Dr. Susan Kansagra, ASTHO chief medical officer; Dr. Lindsay Weaver of Indiana; Dr. James McDonald of New York; and Dr. Ralph Alvarado of Tennessee, share more from Tuesday’s deskside briefing on the Impact of Nutrition on Chronic Disease Prevention; Kelly Dougherty, deputy commissioner at the Vermont Department of Health, explains...

Melissa Magstadt, secretary of health for South Dakota and an ASTHO member, explains the state’s first-in-the-nation anonymous naloxone kit distribution program; Colton Anderson, ASTHO senior analyst for public health systems and improvement, tells us about ASTHO’s Quality Advisory Group...

Laura Harrington, professor in the department of entomology at Cornell University and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, explains how public health can combat tick-borne diseases; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, discusses public health legislation in states around the country...

Dr. Alex Walley, professor of medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, addresses the opioid overdose crisis and community engagement, topics at the Rhode Island’s Community Overdose Engagement (CODE) Summit; Sean...

Dr. Heidi B. Miller, chief medical officer of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, explains how her state was able to see the first significant decline in drug overdose deaths in nearly a decade; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO senior director...

JoAnne McClure, senior analyst on ASTHO’s State Health Policy Team, discusses a new ASTHO Health Policy Update that centers on the need for more overdose prevention supports for those in the criminal justice system; Catherine Jones, ASTHO Government...

Lily McClure, workforce director for the Texas Department of State Health Services, tells us how Texas benefited from the ASTHO Peer Assessment Program; Christina Mullins, deputy secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders at the West...

Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO Member, discusses the allocation of  $300 million to address substance use disorder; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, spoke to Route...

Melissa Jezior, CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting, says burnout on the decline continues to create challenges in the workplace; Dr. Yngvild Olsen, director of the Center for Substance Use Treatment at SAMHSA, tells us the Naloxone Saturation Policy Academy...

Monika Salvage, project director for Cayuga County in New York, explains their participation in the HEALing Communities Study; Dr. Hao Yu, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, conducted a national study on the effect of record heat on EMS;...

Ellen Cartmell, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program manager at the Kentucky Department for Public Health, updates us on her state’s tobacco situation for World No Tobacco Day; an ASTHO blog article outlines how your jurisdiction might leverage...

John Bowman, executive vice president for U.S. Tobacco Programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sounds the alarm about the tobacco industry’s relentless drive to encourage young people to use their products; Kayley Humm, ASTHO senior analyst...

Corey Davis, director of the Harm Reduction Legal Project at the Network for Public Health Law,  discusses the challenges of improving naloxone distribution; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president of government affairs and public relations,...