Episodes

Nov. 26, 2025

1033: How Telehealth Is Expanding Access to Care and How North Dakota’s Academic Health Department Model is Growing Public Health Talent

In this episode: how telehealth has evolved from a pandemic-era necessity into a powerful tool for improving access to healthcare. Senior analyst Ashley Cram breaks down the different types of telehealth, from video visits an...
Nov. 25, 2025

1032: Best of PHRME: CHW Funding Models, Public Health Job Applications

On today’s Best Of PHRME episode, Maria Courogen, executive director for the Center for Access to Whole Person Care at the Washington State Department of Health, explains how her state worked to enable the continued support of community health workers (CHWs) by developing a sustainable funding mode…
Nov. 24, 2025

1031: Public Health Wins: Reductions in RSV Hospitalizations and Overdose Rates Nationwide

On this Public Health Thank You Day, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, joins us to share encouraging news from the front lines of public health. Thanks to increased partnerships with birthing hospitals and the rollout of monoclonal antibodies for infants and the maternal RSV vaccin…
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. 17, 2025

1028: Leading Through Change: Adaptive Leadership in Public Health

Public health is at a crossroads. In this episode, Lillian Shirley and Itta Johnson from Public Consulting Group discuss how adaptive leadership can help rebuild trust, strengthen community partnerships, and drive meaningful change across systems. Drawing from real-world initiatives, they share pra…
Nov. 12, 2025

1027: RSV Season Update: Data Gaps, Trends, and Immunization Efforts

Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer at ASTHO, shares an update on rising RSV activity and how states are tracking trends during the federal shutdown. She highlights new tools that protect infants, including maternal vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, and explains how public health and birthi…
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.
Nov. 4, 2025

1025: From The Ground Up: PHIG In Action In Kansas

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Jade Ramsdell, performance improvement director with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), shares how KDHE is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG)...
Nov. 3, 2025

1024: Best of PHRME: Rural Health Priorities, Nursing Workforce Focus

On today’s ‘Best Of PHRME’ episode, ASTHO revisits an interview with Dan Edney, ASTHO member and state health officer with the Mississippi Department of Health, who explains what the state is doing to meet the public health needs of rural communities across the state. This episode also features a s…
Oct. 31, 2025

1023: AWS Examines AI In Public Health

Jim Daniel, public health leader for state and local government at Amazon Web Services, examines AI usage in public health.
Oct. 30, 2025

1022: AI Assists Data Infrastructure, AmeriCorps Program Helps Rural Population Needs

Lisa Bari, vice president of policy and partnerships at Innovaccer, shares how public health departments can become better prepared to use AI by addressing their underlying data infrastructure; Angela Davis, project coordinator with the Montana Office of Rural Health and Area Health Education Cente…
Oct. 29, 2025

1021: Measles Prevention, Academic Health Partnership Benefits

Jeffrey Eason, director of the Office of Communicable Diseases at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, explains how his department is working to prevent transmission of measles during the state's largest outbreak in 30 years; Dr. C. William Keck, former director of the Akron City Healt…
Oct. 28, 2025

1020: Vaccine Confidence Strategy, HEP FREE 2030

Dr. Novneet Sahu, deputy commissioner for public health at the New Jersey Department of Health, discusses his state’s multi-pronged strategy to improve vaccine access and address vaccine confidence in response to a national rise in pediatric flu deaths; Thaddeus Pham, viral hepatitis prevention coo…
Oct. 27, 2025

1019: PH Lessons From Wildfires, End-Of-Year Legislative Priorities

Michelle Hale, preparedness program director with the Office of Preparedness and Response at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, shares what her state learned about responding to critical public health challenges amid a surge of wildfires in the state; Catherine Murphy, senior analyst…
Oct. 24, 2025

1018: FHIR Improves Timely Data, Data Modernization Advisory Committee

Alfarena McGinty, Marion County coroner in Indianapolis, Indiana, explains how her department’s investment in Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) has improved the efficiency and interoperability of timely mortal...
Oct. 23, 2025

1017: Juthani Takes Over ASTHO Presidency, Public Health’s Way Forward

Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, joins the show for the first time as ASTHO’s president to discuss her plans for the new term; Dr. Karen Hacker, health policy fellow at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, co-authored an article...
Oct. 22, 2025

1016: Harris Reflects on Presidential Term, TFAH Obesity Report

ASTHO immediate past president Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, reflects on his time as president as he closes out his term; Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer at ASTHO, served as a panelist during a press briefing for Trust for America’s H…
Oct. 21, 2025

1015: PHIG Grant Management Improvements

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Amy Ferris, chief financial officer at the Washington State Department of Health, shares how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant to centralize its grant management system.
Guest: Amy Ferris
Oct. 20, 2025

1014: PHF Technical Assistance, Island Area Relationships

Helen Linda, public health workforce development coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health, explains the value of academic health departments and shares how she worked with the Public Health Foundation to assess the current state of her agency’s experiential learning environment; Emman Parian…
Oct. 17, 2025

1013: Preparedness Peer Network, State Health Scorecards

Francesca Provenzano, public health section chief of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses themes and insights from her term as chair of ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Preparedness Peer Network; Dr. Sara Collins, senior …
Oct. 16, 2025

1012: Public Health’s 40 Under 40, Litigation Round-up

Amelia Poulin, assistant director of emerging infectious disease at ASTHO, discusses how she was recently recognized as an honoree of de Beaumont Foundation’s 40 under 40 in Public Health awards; Christina Severin, director of public health law at ASTHO, breaks down her recent Health Policy Update,…
Oct. 15, 2025

1011: ASPR TRACIE, Public Health Storytelling

Rachel Lehman, acting director of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)’s Technical Resources Assistance Center and Information Exchange (TRACIE), celebrates 10 years of the Center’s existence and discusses how it provides states and territories with timely information a…
Oct. 14, 2025

1010: PHIG For Workforce & Procurement

Scott Murakami, PHIG workforce director and principal investigator with the Hawaii State Department of Health, shares how his department is utilizing Public Health Infrastructure Grant funds to support the state’s public health workforce; Melissa Touma, director of the public health infrastructure …