Mental Health Episodes

March 22, 2023

382: Suicide Rates Climbing, Mental Health Funding Opportunities

Deborah Stone, Behavioral Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains that after two consecutive years of declines, U.S. suicide rates increased in 2021, nearly returning to their 2018 peak; Hanna…
Feb. 22, 2023

362: Teen Girls in Crisis, Looking for Diverse Executives

Robin Matthies, ASTHO’s Director for Public and Behavioral Health Integration, encourages ASTHO members to review a CDC report that says teen girls in the U.S. are in crisis; Harold Gil, a graduate of ASTHO’s Diverse Executi…
Oct. 19, 2022

286: Creative Vaccine Strategies

Margaret Jaco Manecke, the Director of Practice Improvement at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, is looking for public health professionals to join the Council’s next annual learning community; an ASTHO work group r…
Oct. 5, 2022

277: Modernize WIC

Brian Dittmeier, Senior Director of Public Policy for the National WIC Association, discusses ways to modernize the WIC program; Ali Hard, Senior Policy Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at the USDA, says states have more fl…
Oct. 3, 2022

275: PH Can Help End Hunger

ASTHO CEO Michael Fraser reflects on last week’s White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health; Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO Immediate Past President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, ma…
Sept. 15, 2022

263: Youth Worried About Climate Change

Rachael Banks, Public Health Director for the Oregon Health Authority Division of Public Health, discusses the results of a new study exploring the connections between climate change and youth mental health; Rebecca Fronberg…
Sept. 6, 2022

256: Helping Youth in Crisis

Heather Sebero, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Social and Behavioral Health, discusses the alarming mental health crisis impacting young people across the country; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President-Elect and the Chief Medical Officer…
June 27, 2022

207: How to Address Burnout

Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President-Elect, reflects on the problem of burnout among health care providers; Amelia Poulin, Senior Analyst for Infectious Disease Outbreak Response and Recovery at ASTHO, discusses the importance of …
June 7, 2022

194: Pain in the Nation Report

Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of the Trust for America’s Health, details a new report that offers disturbing data on the drug, alcohol, and suicide crises facing the nation; Lt. Commander Traci Murray, Assistant Re…
June 2, 2022

191: New Mental Health Commission

Lynn Gallagher, former New Mexico State Health Director, explains how a new commission created by the New Mexico Supreme Court will work to address the mental health needs of people who are in and out of the court system; Ji…
May 4, 2022

171: Protecting Public Health Authority

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, defends public health authority after a recent federal court ruling tossed the requirement for masks on public transportation; Dr. Harry Chen, Vermont’s former health commis…
April 12, 2022

155: Defining Health – Public Health Week

Nathaniel Counts with the non-profit Mental HeaIth America explains the effort to redefine health to include a consideration of mental wellness, as we conclude our seven-part series of conversations with public health leader…
Feb. 17, 2022

121: A Focus on Mental Health

Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Idaho’s State Health Officer, shares her state’s approach to addressing mental health concerns; ASTHO’s Maggie Davis authors a blog article on legislative efforts impacting mental health; Carolyn McCoy, AS…
Nov. 30, 2021

74: The White House Celebrates Public Health

Several ASTHO members attend a White House event in appreciation of public health workers across the states and territories. ASTHO President Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO President-Elect Dr. Anne Zink, California’s Dr. Tomas Aragon,…
Oct. 20, 2021

50: Social Media Health Concerns

Stephanie Smiley, former state health officer for Wisconsin, examines the impact of social media on young people; Community COVID Coalition members release new social media animations to educate people ages 18 to 24 about va…