Mental Health Episodes

March 7, 2024

616: Social Media Epidemic, States Act to Address Youth Eating Disorders

Dr. Matthew Biel, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center, tells us social media is not necessarily a good part of childhood; Lexa Giragosian, ASTHO senior analyst for Maternal and Infa…
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, …
Feb. 8, 2024

597: Childcare Stress Impacts Maternal Health, Palau Tackles Heart Disease and Stroke

Dr. Molly Dickens, Founder and Director of the Maternal Stress Project, discusses the ways maternal health is impacted by stress linked to childcare; Edolem Ikerdeu, Chief for the Division of Primary and Preventive Health Se…
Jan. 23, 2024

585: 2024 Legislative Agenda Looks Familiar, Learn Trauma-Responsive Leadership

Andy Baker-White, ASTHO Senior Director for State Health Policy, previews the state of the legislative calendar this year; Omar Khalid, ASTHO Director of Workforce Development, says leaders can support their teams by adoptin…
Jan. 22, 2024

584: Violence Prevention Work Gets Attention, First Responders Connect Via Telemedicine Link

Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer of the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services, tells us about a recent meeting with officials from the White House Office of Gun Viol…
Jan. 11, 2024

578: New Fentanyl Laws, Report Indicates Climate Impacts on Mental Health

Dr. Sameer Vohra, ASTHO member and director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, tells us new laws in Illinois will seek to address the deadly effects of fentanyl; Paul Schramm, health scientist for the CDC, details …
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, te…
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 20…
Dec. 15, 2023

565: Oregon’s Psilocybin Therapy Program, New Focus on Perinatal Substance Use

Cara Biddlecom, interim state health official at the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division, talks about the launch of the first-ever state-sponsored psilocybin therapy program; Amani Echols, policy and government af…
Dec. 8, 2023

560: Businesses Supporting Public Health, Guide Helps Agencies with Antibiotic Stewardship

Dr. Jerome Adams, former United States Surgeon General, says businesses learned from the pandemic that public health is a worthy investment; Destani Bizune, an epidemiologist in the Office of Antibiotic Stewardship at the CD…
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…
Dec. 1, 2023

555: New Climate Policy Calls for Funding, Actions to Prevent Dengue

Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, says ASTHO’s revised policy statement on climate and health recommends more funding for state and territorial climate programs; Dr. Lyle…
Nov. 28, 2023

552: ASTHO Updates Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy Statement, New Grants Management Toolkit

Patricia Tilley, director, Division of Public Health Services with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, discusses ASTHO’s sexual and reproductive health policy statement; Meghan Fadel, associate directo…
Nov. 9, 2023

542: Veterans Face Health Disparities, Island Areas Examine Indirect Cost Rates

Charity Menefee, lieutenant colonel and public health officer in the Tennessee Air National Guard and the director of the Division of Public Health at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, highlights the conn…
Nov. 6, 2023

539: Mental Health in Tribal Communities, Working With Medicaid Partners

Kaleb Roedel, News Reporter at KUNR Public Radio, reacts to a recent Pew survey that documents extremely high suicide rates among Native Americans and Alaska Natives; and Stephanie Doyle, Deputy Director for the Bureau of Fa…