Season 2
338: Medicaid Cliff, Global View for Public Health
Jan. 18, 2023
Carolyn McCoy, ASTHO Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, shares the good news that Congress has addressed Medicaid funding concerns that have plagued the U.S. territories for years; Dr. Jay Butler, former ASTHO Pr…
337: Dr. Nirav Shah’s Big News, National Day of Racial Healing
Jan. 17, 2023
Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO Immediate Past President, will leave his job as director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to take the number two position at the CDC; Joya Coffman, ASTHO Senior Advisor for Perform…
336: MLK in Public Health, Lactation Help for Incarcerated People
Jan. 13, 2023
Dr. Kimberlee Wyche Etheridge, ASTHO's Senior Vice President of Health Equity and Diversity Initiatives, reflects on the importance of Dr. King’s message to people working in public health; Shatoria Townsend, ASTHO Senior An…
335: Conflict Training, Diverse Executives Search
Jan. 12, 2023
Montrece McNeill Ransom, Director of the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training at the National Network of Public Health Institutes, previews her upcoming ASTHO webinar to help diverse professionals navigate…
334: Flu Messaging, Pandemic Partner
Jan. 11, 2023
Dr. Umair Shah, Washington Secretary of Health, says Congress needs to be continually updated about the winter flu season; Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Idaho State Health Officer with the Department of Health and Welfare, reflects on …
333: COVID-19 Booster Strategy, Medicaid Policies
Jan. 10, 2023
Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, says public health agencies are increasing the focus on COVID-19 boosters for those living in nursing homes and other care settings; Alex Kearly, ASTHO's Director of Medicaid …
332: Public Health Polling, Flu Vaccine Strategies
Jan. 9, 2023
Dr. Meredith Li-Vollmer, Risk Communication Manager for the Seattle and King County Public Health Department, says polling data helped agencies better understand community attitudes and opinions during the pandemic; Shalini …
331: Vaccine Hesitancy Study, Diabetes in Palau
Jan. 6, 2023
Dr. Kimberly Martin, a President’s Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California San Francisco, says black people likely avoid COVID-19 vaccines because of their distrust of the healthcare system; Antonnette Merur, Ch…
330: Reproductive Health, Climate Challenges
Jan. 5, 2023
Dr. Denise Johnson, Acting Secretary of Health for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, says effective reproductive health policies strengthen communities; Dr. Sameer Vohra, Director of the Illinois Department of Public He…
329: Synthetic Nicotine, Ending HIV Stigma
Jan. 4, 2023
Rachael Banks, Public Health Director for the Oregon Health Authority, says policymakers need to address the problem of synthetic nicotine; Dr. Scott Harris, State Health Officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, …
328: Opioids, Equity, and the Medicaid Cliff
Dec. 21, 2022
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…
327: COVID Impacts Top Issues in 2023
Dec. 20, 2022
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…
326: 2023 Federal Policy Agenda
Dec. 19, 2022
Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, is getting set to work on key public health policy issues with a new Congress taking office in a few weeks; Rachel Scheckman, ASTHO Seni…
325: America’s Alarming Preterm Birth Rate
Dec. 16, 2022
Dr. Kathryn Mishkin, Head of the Office of Data Science and Mission Strategy with the March of Dimes, discusses the rise in preterm birth in the United States; Emma Carlson, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Environmental Health, say…
324: Vaccine Anniversary
Dec. 15, 2022
Brent Ewig, Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer for the Association of Immunization Managers, marks the second anniversary of COVID-19 vaccines this week; Jamie Pina, ASTHO Vice President of Public Health Data Mode…
317: Removing Barriers to HIV Treatment
Dec. 6, 2022
Kim Martin, ASTHO’s Director of Immunization, reminds us that vaccines this winter are more important than ever as we recognize National Influenza Vaccination Week; Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, discusses the announcement that AST…
316: Mental Health Needs of School-Age Girls
Dec. 5, 2022
Amber Williams, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Leadership and Organizational Performance, talks about the organization’s annual winter retreat happening this week in San Diego; Lexa Giragosian, Analyst for Maternal and In…
315: Historic PH Investment News
Dec. 2, 2022
Amber Williams, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Leadership & Organizational Performance, discusses the CDC’s announcement that ASTHO will receive significant funding to help public health agencies address key infrastructure …
314: Ending the AIDS Epidemic
Dec. 1, 2022
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, CDC Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, discusses the ongoing HIV epidemic on World AIDS Day; Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, says newly announced money from the CDC will allow his organization t…
313: Tennessee’s Health Resilience Grants
Nov. 30, 2022
Beth Kallmyer, Vice President of Care and Support at the Alzheimer’s Association, discusses National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month; Dr. Morgan McDonald, Interim Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health, exam…
312: Tracking Tobacco Policy
Nov. 29, 2022
Ann Abraham, ASTHO Chronic Disease Prevention Analyst, discusses the need for tobacco control staff members to stay informed of the latest policies in this area; Crystal Rommen, Director of Louisiana Families for Vaccines, s…
311: More Flexible Opioid Guidelines
Nov. 28, 2022
Dr. Christopher Jones, Acting Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, discusses new guidelines that are meant to give providers more flexibility when it comes to treating pain with opioids; Brandi …
310: Teaching Vaccine Advocates
Nov. 23, 2022
Becky Christensen, Founder and Campaign Director for Science and Families Engaging Communities Coalition and Action Fund, discusses protecting public access to vaccines; Kinetra Joseph, Campaign Director for the CDC Foundati…
309: South Dakota’s Tribal Partnerships
Nov. 22, 2022
Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, discusses how the organization’s 150th anniversary was celebrated at its annual meeting held recently in Boston; Joan Adam, Secretary of the…
308: Thankful for People in Public Health
Nov. 21, 2022
Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President and Chief Medical Officer of the Alaska Department of Health, shares some encouraging words to celebrate Public Health Thank You Day; Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, appreciates the significance of Pub…
307: New Congress Means More Oversight
Nov. 17, 2022
Susan Best, Program Manager for the Division of Food and Lead Risk Assessment with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, discusses the implementation of virtual restaurant inspections; Devon Page…
306: A Strategy to Ban Menthol
Nov. 17, 2022
Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, discusses the important role states and local jurisdictions have in removing flavored tobacco products, including menthol, from the market; Tamira Moon, ASTHO’s Director of He…
305: Prepping for Ebola
Nov. 16, 2022
Dr. David Lakey, former Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, discusses the Texas response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak as a wave of Ebola cases in Uganda expands; Robert Gottlieb, a GIS Data Analyst f…
304: COVID-19’s Lessons on Homelessness
Nov. 15, 2022
Dr. Emily Mosites, Senior Advisor on Special Populations for the CDC, discusses lessons learned from work done during the pandemic to help people experiencing homelessness; Heather Krasna, Associate Dean of Career Services a…
303: A Win for Public Health
Nov. 14, 2022
Dr. Judy Monroe, CDC Foundation President and CEO, announces ASTHO as one of the winners of the 2022 Fries Prize for Improving Health; Ericka McGowan, ASTHO Senior Director for Emerging Infection Disease, discusses a new CDC…
302: Veterans Working in Public Health
Nov. 10, 2022
In a special edition of the newscast, we celebrate Veterans Day with thoughts from two veterans working in public health: Keith Reed, Oklahoma Commissioner of Health, is a registered nurse and a colonel in the Oklahoma Air N…
301: Health in All Policies Primer
Nov. 9, 2022
Kerry Wyss, ASTHO’s Director of Environmental Health, outlines a new report about the value of a Health in All Policies approach to public health; Ali Aslam, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst for Environmental Health, discusses how gra…
300: New Tool for Suicide, Overdose, ACEs
Nov. 8, 2022
Caitlin Langhorne Griffith, ASTHO’s Director of Behavioral Health, unveils a new public health tool known as SPACECAT, or Suicide, Overdose and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool; Talyah Sands,…
299: Pediatric Respiratory Cases Cause Concern
Nov. 7, 2022
Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President, releases a statement addressing the response to a spike in respiratory infections; Dr. Jose Romero, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, addres…
298: Washington’s Opioid Agreement
Nov. 4, 2022
Dr. Umair Shah, Secretary of Health for the State of Washington, discusses a settlement with three companies the state says played a key role in driving the opioid epidemic; Donna Levin, Director of Act for Public Health, di…
296: Data Model for Violence Prevention
Nov. 2, 2022
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO President-Elect and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner, discusses Kentucky’s new online system to report foodborne illnesses; Ankur Jain, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Public Health Data Modernization and…
295: Island Policy Working Group
Nov. 1, 2022
Karl Ensign, ASTHO’s Vice President for Territorial Support, discusses the idea behind the Island Areas Workgroup, which is celebrating one year of connecting territories, freely associated states, and federal partners; ASTH…
294: Public Health on the Ballot
Oct. 31, 2022
Jeanne Ayers, Executive Director of Healthy Democracy Healthy People and an ASTHO alum, discusses the impact of voting on public health; Grace Lee, Senior Analyst for Infectious Disease Infrastructure and Policy, authored a …
293: Delaware Youth Go Positive in New Campaign
Oct. 28, 2022
Katie Capelli, an Epidemiologist in the Office of Health Crisis Response at the Delaware Division of Public Health, discusses a new public service campaign to promote a positive, drug free, lifestyle to youth across the stat…
292: Massachusetts Wins Genomics Center Work
Oct. 27, 2022
Margret Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says the CDC has selected her state to develop one of five Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence in the country; there are new and updated Women…
291: Vermont’s New “Facing Suicide” Campaign
Oct. 26, 2022
Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, discusses the state’s new Facing Suicide VT campaign, which focuses on encouraging people to discuss the issue of suicide; ASTHO is working with states and t…
290: Healthy Aging Policy Trends
Oct. 25, 2022
Claire Pendergrast, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Health Improvement and Healthy Aging, discusses a survey of healthy aging policy actions enacted across the states and territories; Dr. LeQuandra Nesbitt, former Director of the D…
289: Monkeypox Communication Strategies
Oct. 24, 2022
Dr. Carlton Thomas, a gastroenterologist in San Diego, discusses a recent CDC report on monkeypox which he says is an argument in favor of communicating on mobile apps and other platforms that are familiar to people in at-ri…
288: ACIP Immunization Decisions Explained
Oct. 21, 2022
In a special episode of the newscast, Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, explains the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decision earlier this week. The committee voted Thursday to add pediatr…
287: New Disability Preparedness Toolkit
Oct. 20, 2022
Dawn Skaggs, Emergency, Disaster, and Climate Resilience Specialist for the World Institute on Disability, promotes a new Public Health Emergency Planning Toolkit to help agencies better serve people living with disabilities…
286: Creative Vaccine Strategies
Oct. 19, 2022
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…
285: COVID-19 Spending Oversight
Oct. 18, 2022
Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, says oversight of COVID-19 spending might increase if midterm elections lead to change in U.S. House leadership ; Heidi Westermann, ASTHO’s Director of Public Hea…
284: Public Health Careers Website Launches
Oct. 17, 2022
Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO’s Director of Workforce Development discusses the debut of ASTHO’s new public health jobs website, ; an ASTHO blog article assesses Tennessee’s progress on Opioid Use Disorder throughout its maternal an…
283: New National Children’s Health Survey
Oct. 14, 2022
Chrissie Juliano, Executive Director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, is joined by local public health directors to discuss public interest in the new COVID-19 booster; ASTHO is working with the National Community Action …
282: Pandemic Achievements
Oct. 13, 2022
Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, talks about an article he helped author in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, which discusses the work public health did in response to the pandemic; Bea …