Pandemics Episodes

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 fundin…
Jan. 4, 2024

573: Disability Definition Coming Soon, Federal Priorities Outlined

Annie Evans, ASTHO director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, tells us ASTHO working to create a definition of disability to be used in the ESSENCE program; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO senior director for Government Affai…
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 di…
Dec. 19, 2023

567: Strategic Primer Helps PH Navigate Challenges; Lead, PFAS, and Food Safety Policy

Mike Fraser, ASTHO chief executive officer, talks about the new book he wrote with Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and chief executive officer of the de Beaumont Foundation; Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator for …
Nov. 13, 2023

543: Rural Health Equity, Covey’s Advice for Building Trust

Dr. Somava Saha, President and CEO of Well-being and Equity in the World, discusses the importance of National Rural Health Day; Stephen Covey, a well-known author, had a message for ASTHO when he joined members at a meeting…
Nov. 3, 2023

538: One Health Simplified, Shutdown Potential

Dr. Karen Smith, Former California Public Health Officer, discusses how agencies can begin their One Health approach; an ASTHO report outlines how Idaho and New Jersey are taking a One Health approach to address environmenta…
Oct. 24, 2023

530: Equity Policy Statement, New Maine Official Ponders Pandemic Lessons

Dr. Joan Duwve, State Health Officer for the Kansas Department of Health, talks about the need to put equity at the center of all public health work; Dr. Puthiery Va, Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prev…
July 26, 2023

468: Pandemic Preps, New Ways to Think About Public Health

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, ASTHO Alum and Dean of the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says growth is needed in public health to be prepared for the next pandemic; Raymond Nea…
Feb. 24, 2023

364: Illinois’ COVID-19 Experience, Khaldun’s Equity Plan for CVS

Dr. Sameer Vorha, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, is taking note of the disparities laid bare by COVID-19 in a new guest column written for the Chicago Sun-Times; Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Vice President and…
Jan. 20, 2023

340: Climate + Health Equity, ARPA Benefits

Dr. Umair Shah, Secretary of Health for the Washington State Department of Health, is establishing connections between climate change, environmental justice, and health equity; Dr. David Gifford, Chief Medical Officer at the…
Jan. 19, 2023

339: Messonnier’s COVID Reflections, Equity Tops Pandemic Lessons

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Dean of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic with her unique perspective as a top CDC official at the time; Dr. John Wiesman, forme…
Dec. 21, 2022

328: Opioids, Equity, and the Medicaid Cliff

Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont Department of Health's Commissioner of Health, discusses the opioid crisis in America and the policies his state has employed to save lives; Alicia Justice, ASTHO Senior Director of Programmatic Heal…
Dec. 20, 2022

327: COVID Impacts Top Issues in 2023

Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, discusses the purpose of the organization’s annual legislative series which identifies the top 10 public health issues to watch in the new year; Dr. Dan Edney, State Health Officer for the Mississippi…
Sept. 29, 2022

273: Classroom Mental Health

Dr. Sharon Hoover, Co-Director of the National Center for School Mental Health, describes how students are wrestling with mental health challenges; Stephen Massey, Director of the Health Action Alliance, discusses a playbook…
Sept. 22, 2022

268: ACEs Legislative Scan

Dr. Jonathan Purtle, Associate Professor at New York University's School of Global Public Health, discusses an ASTHO report on preventing adverse childhood experiences; Lisa Peterson, ASTHO’s Senior Director for Preparedness…