Public Health Policy Episodes

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...

Dr. Jerome Adams, the 20th U.S. surgeon general and current executive director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue University, who was the Surgeon General during the pandemic discusses his new book; Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health...

Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, deputy secretary of Public Health for the Maryland Department of Health, says his state has been able to engage bold policies to help people and address health inequities; Dr. Mondi Mason, workforce manager with the Denver...

Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO immediate past president and chief medical officer for the Alaska Department of Health, says policies can help address the fact that the number of babies born with syphilis is ten times higher than in 2012; JoAnne McClure, ASTHO...

Cara Biddlecom, interim state health official at the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division, talks about the launch of the first-ever state-sponsored psilocybin therapy program; Amani Echols, policy and government affairs manager for the...

Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, outlines the continued challenges to public health legal authority; Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health Policy, discusses a big win for Indiana as funding for public...

Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of public health for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, discusses substance misuse and overdose prevention strategies; Dr. Susan Kansagra, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services assistant...

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...

Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, says ASTHO’s revised policy statement on climate and health recommends more funding for state and territorial climate programs; Dr. Lyle Petersen,...

Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge, senior vice president, Health Equity and Diversity Initiatives, ASTHO outlines the organization’s updated policy statement on structural racism in public health; Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de...

Jessica Fepelstein, analyst, State and Community Engagement, ASTHO, explains the health equity core concepts work that is happening as part of the STRETCH Initiative; Dr. Esther Muna, chief executive officer and territorial health official for the...

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen encourages public health agencies to share their data with each other; Linda Hall, Director of the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health, says her state is working to align its government agencies on a strategy to...

Christina Severin, ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Law, outlines upcoming Supreme Court cases that will impact public health; Susan Donnelly, Workforce Director at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, shares the work her team is doing to...

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...

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...

JoAnne McClure, ASTHO Senior Analyst for State Policy, explains an ASTHO webpage that tracks legislation to authorize overdose centers in some states; Dr. Laura Chisholm, Section Manager for Injury and Violence Prevention with the Oregon Health...

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...

Kris Ehresmann, former Director of Infectious Disease at the Minnesota Department of Health, describes ASTHO’s revised policy statement; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, discusses predictions for Congressional action...

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...

Beth Giambrone, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of State Health Policy, says the EPA has proposed regulations on certain forever chemicals; Jamie Pina, ASTHO’s Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization, explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can be a public health tool;...

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...

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...

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...

Andy Baker-White, ASTHO’s Senior Director of State Health Policy, outlines three new policy recommendations on Public Health Legal Authority; Dr. Georgina Peacock, the Director of the Immunization Services Division in the National Center for...