Workforce Development Episodes

June 25, 2024

692: Training New Tobacco Prevention Hires, Challenges Facing Work on Social Determinants

Katie Steffens, deputy program manager for the State of Alaska Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, is working to give potential employees the skills they need to thrive; Suja Shunmugavelu, ASTHO senior director of Engagement, discusses this...
April 24, 2024

650: Avian Symposium Happens Tomorrow, Gen Z Interested in PH

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, previews a national symposium on avian flu; Jack McClure, a public health consultant with the Association of Immunization Managers, helps us understand how to reach younger people interested in public...
Feb. 21, 2024

605: Social Media is Declared a Public Health Threat, Workforce DEI Strategies

Dr. Ashwin Vasan, New York City health commissioner, discusses New York City’s decision to declare social media a public health hazard; Anya Nystrom, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment director of Culture, Strategy, Equity, and...
Feb. 20, 2024

604: How to Build a Rural Health Workforce, Pacific Island Agencies Make PHIG Plans

Dr. Nizar Wehbi, ASTHO Member and North Dakota state health officer, says North Dakota has a plan to attract healthcare workers; Lindsey Myers, ASTHO vice president for Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure, tells us Pacific Island area public...
Feb. 12, 2024

599: Why Patients Don’t Want a COVID Vaccine, Policies to Help Young Families

Dr. Danielle Ofri, Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, tells us some patients still have concerns about COVID-19 vaccines; Jessica Bissett, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Social and Behavioral Health, discusses several...
Jan. 30, 2024

590: Four Overdose Prevention Policies Explained, Winter Storm Lessons

Kayley Humm, ASTHO Senior Analyst, discusses a new ASTHO report that outlines a series of overdose prevention policies for consideration by public health agencies; Sarah Bonk, Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Response Coordinator for Erie County,...
Jan. 24, 2024

586: Schools Get Naloxone, Communities Help Design Block Grant Projects

Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, Chief Science Officer for the Washington State Department of Health, says providing doses of naloxone to many schools in the state will save lives; Molly Cotant, Deputy Director, and Laura de la Rambelje, MA, Director, both of the Division of Local Health Services and at...
Jan. 10, 2024

577: New Preparedness Website Set to Launch, COVID Vaccine Messaging

Margaux Haviland, ASTHO director for Preparedness and Response Coordination, shares that the Inspire Readiness website goes live on January 16; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, wants public health to focus its COVID vaccine promotion...
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...
Jan. 5, 2024

574: Tracking Respiratory Illness, Congressional Deadlines Loom

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, is tracking reports of respiratory illness across the U.S.; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president for Government Affairs and Public Relations, discusses a federal funding deadline that is quickly...
Dec. 20, 2023

568: Equity Policies Improve Health for All, Apprenticeship Program Builds the Workforce

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...
Dec. 11, 2023

561: ASTHO’s 2024 Legislative Overview Starts Today, Holiday Campaign Offers Treatment Message

Dr. Lindsay Weaver, state health commissioner for the Indiana Department of Health, discusses the state’s campaign to increase investment in public health; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Public Health, explains how...
Dec. 6, 2023

558: A Call to Expand Naloxone Availability, Policies to Solve Maternity Care Deserts

ASTHO President and Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack says easier access to naloxone could help prevent many overdose deaths; former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams says naloxone should be as easy to find as AED devices that prevent...
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. 8, 2023

541: Syphilis Needs a Campaign, Expand Your Community Health Worker Force

Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO past president and Alaska chief medical officer, raises the alarm on the need for new attention to the rising number of syphilis cases in the U.S.; Stephanie Doyle, deputy director for the Bureau of Family Health and...