Data Modernization Episodes

Jan. 28, 2026

1059: Charting the Next Four Years: Inside ASTHO’s 2026–2029 Strategic Plan

ASTHO is entering a pivotal moment for public health, and it has a new strategic plan to meet it. In this episode, ASTHO CEO, Dr. Joseph Kanter, unpacks how ASTHO developed its 2026–2029 strategic plan and why now was the right time for a refresh. Dr. Kanter walks through the inclusive, year-long p…
Jan. 27, 2026

1058: From AI to Outbreaks: Tools, Trust, and the Future of Public Health

What does the future of public health look like when cutting-edge technology collides with persistent, preventable disease threats? Senior Vice President of Health at ICF and ASTHO alum John Auerbach joins us to break down how artificial intelligence can be responsibly and realistically introduced …
Jan. 20, 2026

1054: Building Public Health for the Long Term: Inside the Public Health Infrastructure Grant

What does it take to strengthen public health systems nationwide and why does flexible funding matter? In this PHIG Impact Report, we’re joined by SzePui Hughes, senior director of public health workforce and infrastructure at ASTHO to unpack the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) and ASTHO’…
Jan. 12, 2026

1050: Leading Through Uncertainty: State Strategies for a Changing Public Health Funding Landscape

What happens when the federal government steps back and states are asked to lead? Continuing our Legislative Prospectus Series, which examines the public health policy trends set to shape 2026, ASTHO President and Connecticut Commissioner of Public Health, Dr. Manisha Juthani, joins the show to dis…
Jan. 5, 2026

1046: What State Policymakers Need to Know About Emerging Public Health Priorities in the New Year

As part of our state health policy portfolio, ASTHO releases an annual Legislative Prospectus Series: policy briefs summarizing state and territorial legislation that impacts public health. Today, Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO’s CEO, will summarize the 2026 series, identify trends in public health law f…
Dec. 17, 2025

1044: The Jobs Public Health Needs Now: Rethinking Workforce for the Data Age

As health departments modernize their data systems, an unexpected challenge has emerged: traditional public health job classifications no longer match the reality of today’s data landscape. In this episode, Ari Whiteman, ASTHO’s senior advisor for public health data and informatics workforce, talks…
Dec. 8, 2025

1038: Kentucky’s Pertussis Surge: Preventable Tragedies and a Path Forward

Kentucky is experiencing its largest spike in whooping cough cases since 2012, an alarming rise that has already claimed the lives of three infants in the past year. In this episode, Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, joins us to unpack what’s driving …
Dec. 4, 2025

1037: Making the Case for Data Modernization: Stories, Strategy, and the Bottom Line

In this episode, ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Data Modernization and Informatics, Allen Rakotoniaina, breaks down how public health agencies can effectively make the case for investing in modern data systems.
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. 10, 2025

1026: Best of PHRME: Public Health Data, Noise Exposure, and Community Resilience

On today’s Best Of PHRME episode, we revisit an interview with ASTHO's Jennifer Layden, senior vice president for population health and innovation, who discusses how states are advancing data modernization and building creative partnerships to strengthen public health.
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. 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.
Sept. 11, 2025

988: New Data Modernization Expertise, Hearing Loss and Public Health

Dr. Jen Layden, senior vice president for population health and innovation at ASTHO, discusses her previous experience in data modernization and what’s to come as she takes on her new role; Dr. Rick Neitzel, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public H…
Aug. 18, 2025

971: Medicaid & Public Health Team Up, Respiratory Virus Season

Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, and Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, discuss a new partnership between the two organizations; Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO,...
Aug. 5, 2025

962: Data Modernization + PHIG

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Dr. Brooke Cunningham, ASTHO member and the commissioner of health for the Minnesota Department of Health, discusses how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
July 31, 2025

959: Overdose Death Reduction, ASTHO Data Modernization Resources

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, ASTHO member and chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, explains how Michigan’s multifaceted approach has reduced overdose deaths across the state; Heidi Westermann, director of public health data modernization and informatics at ASTHO...
July 22, 2025

952: PHIG Funding + Data Modernization

In today's PHIG Impact Report, Dr. Robert Goldstein, ASTHO member and the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, takes us through how his department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
July 10, 2025

944: State Activity on Food Dyes, PH collaboration

Kristen Rogers, a jounalist for CNN Wellness, explains why synthetic food dyes are being banned by states across the country and how each state is taking action; Felicia Quintana-Zinn, associate director of health data with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, discusses...
May 8, 2025

902: Data Dashboards, Design Your Own Accreditation

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, explains the state’s Public Health Data Dashboard, which visualizes public health trends by district and helps to shape awareness of public health’s role in the community;...
March 10, 2025

859: HIMSS Global Health Conference, Important Week for Island Areas

J.T. Lane, ASTHO senior Vice President for Population Health and Innovation at ASTHO, tells us how the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition is pushing health data modernization forward; Alex Wheatley, ASTHO Senior Director of Island Support,...
Dec. 5, 2024

804: Health Data and Privacy, PH Communications

Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, emphasizes the importance of gathering data in Public Health to react to any issues as we continue ASTHO’s Legislative Prospectus Series; Debra Johnson, the director of the...
Sept. 26, 2024

758: CSS Supports New IC Program, Directors of Public Health Preparedness Meeting

Dr. Sheena Patel, executive director for public health modernization at CRISP Shared Services, discusses the role CRISP Shared Services will play in the Implementation Center program; Lisa Peterson, ASTHO senior director for preparedness, discusses...
Aug. 27, 2024

737: Solutions to Hiring Barriers, Data Modernization Webinar

Dr. Valerie Yeager, interim director of the Center for Health Policy at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, discusses the need for public health to update hiring practices; Willysha Jenkins, senior advisor for data modernization...