On today's episode, Catherine Jones, senior analyst of Government Affairs at ASTHO, breaks down the importance of federal preparedness in strengthening public health.
Strong public health preparedness depends on sustained investment long before an emergency occurs. In this Federal Health Policy Update, Catherine Jones, senior analyst of Government Affairs at ASTHO, explains what congressional preparedness hearings revealed about the nation's readiness for major events like the FIFA World Cup, while highlighting why recent disease threats underscore the need for continued vigilance. She also breaks down the key HHS preparedness programs that support state and territorial health agencies and discusses why consistent federal funding is essential to maintaining the workforce, laboratories, data systems, and partnerships that protect communities before, during, and after a crisis.
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JOHN SHEEHAN:
This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, July 6, 2026. I'm John Sheehan, with news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Strong public health preparedness depends on sustained investment long before an emergency occurs. In this Federal Health Policy Update, Catherine Jones, senior analyst of Government Affairs at ASTHO, explains what congressional preparedness hearings revealed about the nation's readiness for major events like the FIFA World Cup and America's 250th anniversary, while highlighting why recent disease threats underscore the need for continued vigilance. She also breaks down the key HHS preparedness programs that support state and territorial health agencies and discusses why consistent federal funding is essential to maintaining the workforce, laboratories, data systems, and partnerships that protect communities before, during, and after a crisis.
Catherine Jones, welcome back to the show.
CATHERINE JONES:
Thank you.
SHEEHAN:
So, Catherine, give us an overview of these hearings. What are some themes coming out?
JONES:
The biggest takeaway from both sides of the aisle is that preparedness on all levels, including public health, does not happen overnight. It takes years, often decades, and a lot of funding to ensure that the general population is safe during mass events, such as the World Cup and the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary, when people think about events like the World Cup, they often think about on the ground logistics, such as security, transportation, airspace security, especially in regard to drones and crowd management. Public health preparedness ensures that if there is an event, the emergency and recovery support services are in place. This takes a lot of coordinated work by federal agencies, the health departments, and all other stakeholders. And since these hearings took place back in the spring, we've seen more public health threats emerge, such as Hantavirus on cruise ships and the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC in Uganda, and we all know that viruses are impervious to international borders.
SHEEHAN:
Yeah, for sure. And I think that your points to preparedness, especially around these big national events, will resonate with public health professionals. Your blog presents preparedness as an "invisible shield". Can you unpack that?
JONES:
Sure. Emergency preparedness is most successful when the public never notices it. Examples of this are when disease surveillance systems, such as wastewater surveillance, identify an outbreak early, or when laboratories quickly confirm a threat and health departments work to immediately contain it. On top of this, emergency centers and hospitals are designed to seamlessly coordinate across regions and states to respond to mass injuries and casualties. In other words, the lack of preparedness and the ability to mitigate and respond to crises becomes highly visible when public health systems are strained or underfunded, and when the invisible shield works, safe communities and trust in public health ensure better outcomes.
SHEEHAN:
Sure, and what are the key federal HHS preparedness programs that are supporting states and territories?
JONES:
Three HHS programs are particularly important for preparedness, and they include the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreements, the Hospital Preparedness Program, and the Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grants. The cooperative agreements help state, local, and territorial health departments build and maintain preparedness capabilities. The hospital preparedness program strengthens health care system readiness and medical surge capacity in states and across state lines, and the block grants are designed to provide flexible funding for health departments to fill in gaps in workforce training, programmatic work readiness, etc. Together, these three programs help ensure that health agencies can monitor threats, coordinate responses, communicate with the public, and support healthcare partners during emergencies.
SHEEHAN:
Okay, and so those three programs clearly are pretty imperative. And so, you know they take funding. Why is sustained funding so important?
JONES:
Preparedness cannot be built overnight. It also cannot be turned on in the middle of a crisis, it takes decades of investment to recruit and maintain trained staff, modernize data systems, strengthen lag capacity, develop emergency plans, and build trusted partnerships across sectors and agencies. Consistent funding allows agencies to train, exercise plans. Plans improve systems and remain ready for both routine public health threats and large-scale emergencies.
SHEEHAN:
Yeah, and so with that in mind, as Congress continues to consider the FY27 budget, what do you want policymakers to take away from all this?
JONES:
First, I'd like to say that the fact that Congress held hearings on preparedness is reassuring. I think the next hurdle is to ensure that these concerns translate into robust funding for public health programs, including the three that I mentioned. The central message for FY27 appropriations is that investments in public health preparedness strengthen the nation's ability to detect disease outbreaks, respond to natural disasters, support healthcare systems, and overall to protect the general population as well as all those who visit the United States.
SHEEHAN:
Catherine Jones. Thank you, as always.
JONES:
Thank you.
SHEEHAN:
Catherine Jones is a senior analyst of Government Affairs at ASTHO.
Join ASTHO on July 9 for a webinar launching a new suite of resources designed to help state, territorial, and freely associated state health agencies advance shared strategies for addressing the intersection of adverse childhood experiences, suicide, overdose, and mental health concerns. This session will introduce a roadmap for this work and highlight practical tools to support implementation of strategies related to economic and foundational supports, the built environment, and trauma response efforts. Learn more at the link in the show notes.
The ASTHO Policy Institute for STI and Infectious Disease Prevention is designed to help state and territorial health officials and staff strengthen their capacity to engage in policy-related work around STIs, infectious diseases, and other public health priority areas. It is a multi-part learning and technical assistance opportunity where participants can connect with peers across jurisdictions and receive tailored support to advance real-world public health priorities. The link is in the show notes.
This has been Public Health Review Morning Edition. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
