Public Health Workforce Episodes

Dec. 3, 2025

1036: What the 2025 Government Shutdown Revealed and What Comes Next

In this episode, ASTHO’s Catherine Jones, senior analyst for government affairs, breaks down the 2025 federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, and what made it uniquely disruptive compared to the 2018–2019 closure.
Dec. 2, 2025

1035: Building Sustainable Public Health Data Systems in Montana

On today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, we talk with Jenn Rico, data modernization and surveillance & informatics supervisor at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Jenn shares how Montana has used PHIG funding to accelerate statewide data modernization, and investe…
Guest: Jenn Rico MA
Dec. 1, 2025

1034: Public Health at a Crossroads: Trust, Storytelling, and the Future of the Field

ASTHO's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, joins us for a candid conversation about the state of public health today. She reflects on her unexpected path into the field, the urgent need to rebuild public trust, and why communicating the everyday value of public health is more critical than …
Nov. 26, 2025

1033: How Telehealth Is Expanding Access to Care and How North Dakota’s Academic Health Department Model is Growing Public Health Talent

In this episode: how telehealth has evolved from a pandemic-era necessity into a powerful tool for improving access to health care. ASTHO senior analyst Ashley Cram breaks down the different types of telehealth, from video visits and audio-only consultations to remote patient monitoring, and why ea…
Nov. 25, 2025

1032: Best of PHRME: CHW Funding Models, Public Health Job Applications

On today’s Best Of PHRME episode, Maria Courogen, executive director for the Center for Access to Whole Person Care at the Washington State Department of Health, explains how her state worked to enable the continued support of community health workers (CHWs) by developing a sustainable funding mode…
Nov. 24, 2025

1031: Public Health Wins: Reductions in RSV Hospitalizations and Overdose Rates Nationwide

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 vaccin…
Nov. 19, 2025

1030: Rural Health in Focus: State Strategies for Transformation

In this episode, health leaders from Iowa, Maine and Mississippi share their strategies for revitalizing rural healthcare. We hear excerpts from an ASTHO media briefing featuring ASTHO members as they address the urgent challenges facing millions of rural Americans, including healthcare provider sh…
Nov. 18, 2025

1029: PHIG Impact Report: How Utah Builds a Modern Public Health Data System

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Nicole Yerkes, data modernization director with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, shares how the state is using PHIG funding to advance a unified, future-ready public health data system. She discusses innovations like AI-assisted ana…
Nov. 4, 2025

1025: From The Ground Up: PHIG In Action In Kansas

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Jade Ramsdell, performance improvement director with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), shares how KDHE is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG)...
Nov. 3, 2025

1024: Best of PHRME: Rural Health Priorities, Nursing Workforce Focus

On today’s ‘Best Of PHRME’ episode, ASTHO revisits an interview with Dan Edney, ASTHO member and state health officer with the Mississippi Department of Health, who explains what the state is doing to meet the public health needs of rural communities across the state. This episode also features a s…
Oct. 30, 2025

1022: AI Assists Data Infrastructure, AmeriCorps Program Helps Rural Population Needs

Lisa Bari, vice president of policy and partnerships at Innovaccer, shares how public health departments can become better prepared to use AI by addressing their underlying data infrastructure; Angela Davis, project coordinator with the Montana Office of Rural Health and Area Health Education Cente…
Oct. 27, 2025

1019: PH Lessons From Wildfires, End-Of-Year Legislative Priorities

Michelle Hale, preparedness program director with the Office of Preparedness and Response at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, shares what her state learned about responding to critical public health challenges amid a surge of wildfires in the state; Catherine Murphy, senior analyst…
Oct. 23, 2025

1017: Juthani Takes Over ASTHO Presidency, Public Health’s Way Forward

Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, joins the show for the first time as ASTHO’s president to discuss her plans for the new term; Dr. Karen Hacker, health policy fellow at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, co-authored an article...
Oct. 22, 2025

1016: Harris Reflects on Presidential Term, TFAH Obesity Report

ASTHO immediate past president Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, reflects on his time as president as he closes out his term; Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer at ASTHO, served as a panelist during a press briefing for Trust for America’s H…
Oct. 21, 2025

1015: PHIG Grant Management Improvements

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Amy Ferris, chief financial officer at the Washington State Department of Health, shares how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to centralize its grant management system.
Guest: Amy Ferris
Oct. 20, 2025

1014: PHF Technical Assistance, Island Area Relationships

Helen Linda, public health workforce development coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health, explains the value of academic health departments and shares how she worked with the Public Health Foundation to assess the current state of her agency’s experiential learning environment; Emman Parian…
Oct. 17, 2025

1013: Preparedness Peer Network, State Health Scorecards

Francesca Provenzano, public health section chief of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses themes and insights from her term as chair of ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Preparedness Peer Network; Dr. Sara Collins, senior …
Oct. 14, 2025

1010: PHIG For Workforce & Procurement

Scott Murakami, PHIG workforce director and principal investigator with the Hawaii State Department of Health, shares how his department is utilizing Public Health Infrastructure Grant funds to support the state’s public health workforce; Melissa Touma, director of the public health infrastructure …
Oct. 9, 2025

1008: Infant Mortality PH Emergency, Chagas Disease

Dr. Daniel Edney, state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health and ASTHO member, shares how his state declared infant mortality a public health emergency to offer services across the state more rapidly; Bonny Mayes, epidemiologist with the Texas Department of State Health Ser…
Oct. 8, 2025

1007: Public Health Strategic Skills Guide, PHIG Procurement Upgrades

Dr. Gen Meredith, associate professor with the Department of Public and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University, associate director of the Master of Public Health program, and director of Cornell’s Health Impact Score, explains how their new Public Health Strategic Skills Guide can help professional…
Oct. 7, 2025

1006: PHIG Funding The Future Workforce

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Celeste Jorge, epidemiologist and evaluator with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
Oct. 6, 2025

1005: Scalable Data Surveillance For PH

In this special episode of Public Health Review Morning Edition, Eric Whitworth, CEO of InductiveHealth, discusses the importance of scalable data surveillance systems and how taking a broader approach to modernization can benefit health departments.
Oct. 1, 2025

1002: Upgraded Contract Tracking, Supporting Brain Health

Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Operation Analysis Office at the Tennessee Department of Health, explains how his department expanded its contract tracking system to enhance efficiency and manage grants across their life cycle; Kellie Waugh, analyst for health improvement and healthy aging at ASTH…
Sept. 30, 2025

1001: Public Health + Medicaid

In this special episode of Public Health Review Morning Edition, Julie Sullivan, principal at BerryDunn, discusses how public health agencies can partner with Medicaid to share data and obtain needed resources while saving funds.