Wildfires Episodes

Oregon Health Authority's Gabriela Goldfarb and the Minnesota Department of Health's Kathy Koehler Raleigh discuss the health risks of wildfire smoke and extreme heat, along with practical advice on protecting communities from these events.

Wildfire smoke is no longer a rare emergency; it’s a predictable, climate-driven public health threat. In this episode, Gabriela Goldfarb, environmental public health section manager for the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division, tells us why health agencies must begin outreach and coordination long before wildfire season starts. Goldfarb walks through Oregon’s collaborative wildfire smoke response protocol, explaining how state, federal, tribal, and local partners translate complex data into timely public health advisories.

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 of government affairs at ASTHO, discusses the Federal Health Policy Update she authored...

Shalini Nair, senior analyst for infectious disease at ASTHO, tells public health professionals everything they need to know about New World screwworm (NWS), and what to do if their state experiences a case; Maggie Nilz, senior analyst for preparedness at ASTHO, shares information from a new Health Policy Update on public health preparedness for extreme weather events...

Former ASTHO president Dr. Anne Zink, senior clinical fellow at Yale University and practicing emergency medicine physician, shares how PopHIVE, a database of de-identified, population-level health data, draws data from various sources, allowing public health providers to find patterns and make informed decisions; Nicholas Porter, director for environmental health at ASTHO, discusses...

Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, secretary of health for the Maryland Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, tells us how Maryland was the first state to sign on to the AHEAD Model released by CMS; Jessica Byrski, senior policy analyst for the National...

Helen Branswell, senior writer on Infectious Diseases and Global Health at STAT, reflects on her early coverage of the avian flu virus impacting mostly dairy cows across the country; Betsy Mayotte, president of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors,...

Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, tells us how her department is working to improve mental health; Kathleen Ho, deputy director for Environmental Health with Hawaii’s State Department of Health,...

Aaron Ferguson, manager of the Climate and Tracking Unit in the Division of Environmental Health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, tells us what Michigan leadership learned when they dealt with unprecedented air quality in the...

Christi Mackie, ASTHO vice president of Community Health and Prevention Programs, tells us about the USDA’s first update to WIC packaging in a decade; Jessica Baggett, ASTHO senior advisor for Public Health Response, reflects on lessons learned from...

Dr. Karen Smith, former director of the California Department of Public Health, says day three of National Public Health Week focuses on climate change and the impact of environmental concerns on communities; Karl Ensign, vice president of...