Women, Infant, And Family Health Episodes

March 3, 2025

854: Program Introduces Students to PH, ASTHO Leadership Institute

Elle Talsma, project supervisor for the INSPIRE Program at the Minnesota Department of Health, tells us how the program encourages students to take an interest in public health; Chris Baumgartner, deputy chief informatics officer at the Washington...
Dec. 2, 2024

801: Take Control of Your Birth Control Program, Lame Duck Priorities

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, discusses the launch of the Take Control of Your Birth Control program; Catherine Jones, ASTHO senior analyst for Government Affairs, tells us what the priorities are for the...
Nov. 6, 2024

786: CDC’s “Hear Her” Campaign for Maternal Health, PHIG Funds Leadership Program

Dr. Wanda Barfield, director of the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the “Hear Her” campaign that aims to help the national maternal mortality crisis; Cynthia Naasira Taylor, leadership...
May 14, 2024

664: Pharmacy-Based Birth Control Expands, Maternal Mental Health Policy Ideas

Dr. Sally Rafie, founder of Birth Control Pharmacist, says pharmacies are an accessible and private option for those in need of contraceptive care; Joy Burkhard, executive director of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, wants to make sure...
March 28, 2024

631: Inspired by Public Health, TFAH Reports on Readiness

Dr. Karen Smith, former director of the California Department of Public Health, tells us about the early days of her career; Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America's Health, details the Ready or Not Report which gets specific...
March 27, 2024

630: Data Sharing Considerations, Alliance Benefits Women’s Health

Susan Bsharah, associate director at Guidehouse, discusses an upcoming TEFCA webinar set for April 4; Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO member, tells us about the “Good Housing = Good...
March 12, 2024

619: Review Food Safety Policies, New Misinformation Toolkit

Dr. Susan Kansagra, assistant secretary for public health in North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO member, tells us how the tenacity of one inspector caused an investigation that uncovered lead-contaminated applesauce packets in North Carolina; Dr. Tara Kirk...
Dec. 21, 2023

569: Former Surgeon General Explains the Pandemic Response, Barriers to Family + Reproductive Health

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...
Dec. 18, 2023

566: Policies to Curb Sexually Transmitted Infections, Xylazine Regulation and Testing

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...
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...
Sept. 6, 2023

497: New Approach to ACEs Prevention, Climate Challenges Lead to Cooperation

Safia Khan, Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff at the Minnesota Department of Corrections, outlines how the Healthy Start Act will reduce the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences in Minnesota; Danny Staley, ASTHO’s Senior Vice...
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. 3, 2023

474: Overdose Strategies, Pregnancy Risk Data

Victoria Pless, ASTHO’s Assistant Director of Social and Behavioral Health, explains recommendations states can use to reduce overdoses; Stephany Strahle, with ASTHO’s Family and Child Health team, says updating public health surveillance systems...
Aug. 1, 2023

472: Vaccine Equity Honors, How to Pay for Birth Control Services

Geetika Nadkarni, ASTHO’s Director of Chronic Infectious Disease, shares the award-winning Partnering for Vaccine Equity project which aims to increase vaccinations among diverse communities; Meredith Sussman, Vaccine Equity Project Manager for...
July 27, 2023

469: How to Modernize Your Data, Opill Equity

J.T. Lane, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Population Health and Innovation, explains recommendations to improve public health data systems; Brittany Lee, ASTHO’s Director of Family and Child Health, says public health education will play a role...
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...
May 23, 2023

426: Medicaid for Post-Partum People, Women’s Health Policy Statement

Sowmya Kuruganti, ASTHO Public Health Analyst, explains how Medicaid expansion could increase access to care for postpartum people; Sanaa Akbarali, ASTHO Senior Director of Maternal and Infant Health, says a renewed ASTHO policy statement addresses...
May 16, 2023

421: Talking TechXpo, Maternal Mortality Help

Avia Mason, ASTHO Vice President of Leadership and Learning, shares what attendees can expect from ASTHO’s Public Health TechXpo and Futures Forum happening next week in Chicago and online; Dr. Lily Lou, former Chief Medical Officer in Alaska and...
May 15, 2023

420: Maternal Mortality Disparities, Risk Appropriate Care Could Help

Dr. Brannon Traxler, Director of Public Health for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, explains why South Carolina is seeing high rates of infant and maternal mortality; Dr. Eugene Toy, Gynecologist and professor of...
May 4, 2023

413: Biden Gets PH Workforce Report; Maternal Care Policies

Lindsey Myers, ASTHO’s Vice President for Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure, explains the importance of President Biden’s report on the public health workforce; Maria Gabriela Ruiz, an analyst on ASTHO’s Maternal and Infant Health team,...
May 3, 2023

412: May 11 Preps, Linking Data to Protect Kids

ASTHO CEO Dr. Mike Fraser discusses the end of the public health emergency on May 11th; Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, Medical Director of the Children’s Place Child Advocacy Center in Alaska, explains how a project by the Alaska Division of Public...
April 25, 2023

406: One Health Discussion, CDC Data Tech Funding

Dr. Umair Shah, Washington State Secretary of Health, explains the One Health concept at the annual Preparedness Summit in Atlanta; Dr. Dylan George, Director of the CDC's Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, says building strong data...
April 24, 2023

405: Childhood Immunization Schedules, Island Area Health Equity Plans

On the first day of National Infant Immunization Week, Dr. José Romero, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, discusses the importance of vaccines and the COVID-19 schedule for children; Karl Ensign,...
April 5, 2023

392: Emergency Contraception, PH Workforce Panel

On Day Three of Public Health Week, Kelly Cleland, Executive Director of the American Society for Emergency Contraception, says college students need access to emergency contraception and related services; a new ASTHO blog article outlines how...