Public Health Infrastructure Episodes

Jan. 9, 2024

576: State Health Assessments Inform Planning, How to Access Public Health Databases

Dr. Edward Simmer, director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, dives deep into a new state health assessment; Melissa Touma, ASTHO’s director of the Public Health Infrastructure Program, tells us how Colorado used...
Dec. 22, 2023

570: Policies Protect Health Data, Series Serves as Early-Warning System, ASTHO’s 2024 Federal Legislative Agenda

Lillian Colasurdo, ASTHO director of Public Health Law and Data Sharing, discusses work to protect consumer data gathered from a growing number of health-related transactions; Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, reacts to the legislative prospectus series that he...
Dec. 4, 2023

556: New Suicide Prevention Policy Statement, Testing Could Curb Newborn Syphilis Cases

Dr. Mark Levine, commissioner, Vermont Department of Health, says ASTHO’s new policy statement on suicide prevention offers many recommendations including a call to improve access to health care services for those at highest risk; Dr. Robert...
Nov. 15, 2023

545: Medicaid and Public Health Collaborate, Covey’s Parting Advice

Dr. Shannon Dowler, chief medical officer for North Carolina Medicaid, says healthcare gets better when state Medicaid and public health agencies take the time to understand each other; Dr. Matthew Christiansen, state health officer for the West...
Nov. 14, 2023

544: New ASTHO Resource Center, How to Build External Trust

Brian Lentes, senior director of Public Health Infrastructure, ASTHO, discusses the supports offered by the ASTHO STAR Center; Stephen Covey, a well-known author, says leaders first need to build trust within the public health agency before expanding...
Nov. 2, 2023

537: Presidential Reflections, Medicaid Successes

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska Chief Medical Officer and ASTHO Immediate Past President, reflects on her time at the head of the organization; Dr. Susan Kansagra (SHO-NC), North Carolina Assistant Public Health Secretary, says her agency...
Oct. 24, 2023

530: Equity Policy Statement, New Maine Official Ponders Pandemic Lessons

Dr. Joan Duwve, State Health Officer for the Kansas Department of Health, talks about the need to put equity at the center of all public health work; Dr. Puthiery Va, Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, explains that...
Oct. 17, 2023

525: CDC Director Shares Priorities

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen joins the newscast to discuss changing mindsets around health data infrastructure and the new RSV vaccine; and sign up for ASTHO’s Public Health Weekly email newsletter
Oct. 4, 2023

517: New Mental Health Framework, Teaming Up to Address Overdoses

Dr. Nia West-Bey, the director of youth policy at the Center for Law and Social Policy, shares a new framework focused on prevention and wellness promotion among young people; Dr. Cathy Slemp, co-founder and vice chair of the West Virginia Hope in...
Aug. 24, 2023

489: School Vaccinations, Chemical Weapon Disposal

Dr. Sameer Vohra, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, details the state’s back-to-school vaccination campaign; Terry Tincher, Section Chief for the CDC’s Chemical Demilitarization Program, marks a big milestone for the program;...
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. 8, 2023

477: PH-HERO Set to Grow, Dialysis Patient Voices

Omar Khalid, ASTHO’s Director of Workforce Development, explains the expansion of ASTHO’s Public Health – Hope, Equity, Resilience, and Opportunity (PH-HERO) initiative; Erin Laird, ASTHO’s Director of Emerging Infections, says preventing...
July 28, 2023

470: Mental Health Rulemaking, Senate Version of PH Spending

Alison Maffey, ASTHO’s Vice President of Social and Behavioral Health, explains the impact of President Biden’s proposed rule to make it easier to access in-network mental health care; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government...
July 21, 2023

465: New Violence Prevention Plan, FY 24 Public Health Funding Proposal Examined

Tracie Campbell, Senior Health Manager and the leader of Mecklenburg County Public Health Office of Violence Prevention, shares a five-year plan to reduce community violence; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public...
July 20, 2023

464: Paxlovid Uptake Lags, New Healthy Aging Policy Statement

Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, says public health aims to strengthen the use of antiviral COVID-19 protections in nursing homes; Priya Shah, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of Health Improvement and Healthy Aging, shares an updated policy...
July 18, 2023

462: New Power Emergency Toolkit, Fresh Guidelines for Older Adults

Eric Cote, Founder of Power Outage Partners and ASTHO Consultant, explains a new tool kit that addresses the risk of power outages for those using life support devices; Dr. Katrina Piercy, Director of the Division of Prevention Science in the Office...
July 12, 2023

458: Indiana Invests in Local PH,  Youth Mental Health Webinar

Pam Pontones, Deputy Health Commissioner of Local Public Health Services for the Indiana State Department of Health, shares Indiana’s plan to invest in local health departments to address community health needs; Ioana Ungureanu, ASTHO's Senior Analyst for...
July 5, 2023

453: REPLAY: Dealing with Xylazine, Island Care for Veterans

This special edition revisits Episode 386 of Public Health Review Morning Edition from March 28th.   Dr. Daniel Edney, State Health Officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health, discusses the dangers of Xylazine, a strong tranquilizer,...
June 28, 2023

450: A Call for Data, Lead Poisoning Prevention

Dr. Janelle Palacios, Nurse Midwife and Researcher at Kaiser Permanente, says we need better data on the health challenges facing American Indian and Alaska Native mothers and their babies; Dr. Clifford Mitchell, Director of the Environmental Health...
June 27, 2023

449: PH’s Data Challenge, Scholarly Advice

William Kassler, Chief Medical Officer for Palantir Technologies, calls for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to understanding health data; Krystle White, Manager of Health Equity Outcomes for the Gaston County Government in North Carolina,...
June 26, 2023

448: Vital Records Accreditation Matters, Therapeutic Psilocybin Programs Gain Traction

Mariah Pokorny, Director of Accreditation & Reporting for the South Dakota Department Of Health, explains the importance of vital records and health statistics accreditation; Chantell Reed, Interim Deputy Director Of Operations at the Multnomah County...
June 22, 2023

446: Supporting Tribal Nations, Workforce Goes Back to School

Dr. Laura Chanchien Parajon, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Health, explains how the New Mexico Health Department is working with tribal communities to improve health services; Dr. Michelle Taylor, Director of the Shelby...
June 21, 2023

445: Pride Month Lessons, DELPH Graduate

Dr. Stephen Lee, Executive Director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, shares advice for building public health programs for the LGBTQ+ community; Heather Pangelinan, Director of Public Health Services at Commonwealth...
June 20, 2023

444: STI Interventions, Communication Priorities

Dr. Jonathan Mermin, Director of the CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, shares how public health can better address the STI epidemic; ASTHO Alum Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Immediate Past Director of the Illinois Department of...