In this episode, we spotlight a dynamic partnership between an Indiana local health department and Public Health AmeriCorps. Our guests — Jessica Baker, a dedicated Public Health AmeriCorps member, and Michelle Arnold, their host site supervisor — share how they became involved with the program and the impact of their collaboration. Michelle discusses the decision to host an AmeriCorps member and the valuable contributions Jessica has made, both locally and at the state health agency level. Mean...
May 13, 2025•19 min•Ep. 95
The Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Data for Action project supports the integration of data on brain health and caregiving into public health planning efforts. State health leaders in the brain health space from Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, and New Jersey participated in the HBI Data for Action initiative as Cohort 1, with support from the Alzheimer’s Association and ASTHO. This episode showcases the inaugural cohort’s accomplishments. Guests Meghan Fadel: Data for Action Lead; Associate Dir...
Sep 16, 2024•24 min
There are many considerations when forming and managing an office of health equity or minority health. The National Association of State Offices of Minority Health shares how agencies across the United States have overcome common challenges and benefited from having a dedicated health equity office. In addition, the United States Virgin Islands Department of Health discusses initial successes and challenges experienced while establishing their office. Finally, the California Department of Public...
Jul 30, 2024•31 min
Community health workers (CHWs) are frontline, public health professionals who share life experience, compassion, and cultural and value alignment with the communities they serve. They work in a range of settings under different titles, but what makes them unique is their ability to build deep trust with the people they serve based on their lived experience. Despite robust evidence demonstrating the value of CHWs, sustainability of CHW positions and funding remains a perpetual challenge. In this...
Jul 26, 2024•25 min
The landscape of public health data is changing. This episode dives into the importance of modernizing data exchange for a more efficient and effective public health system. We explore a framework that utilizes cloud services, open-source software, and open data standards to revolutionize how public health data is collected, shared, and analyzed. This innovative approach outlines tools to reduce manual effort and streamline data flow across various sources, ultimately empowering state, tribal, l...
Jul 22, 2024•30 min
Summary: The FDA Food Code provides an evidence-based set of best practices for retail food safety that can reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses from retail food establishments. It offers a wide array of benefits that can help establish uniformity in retail food across the country, but some jurisdictions may face challenges in adopting it. There are different ways to adopt the Food Code, showcased in this podcast episode, with examples from Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation...
Jul 10, 2024•28 min
The Government of Guam (GovGuam)— along with many other states, territories, and freely associated states — experience s challenges with procurement, which were illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic response. To improve their small purchase procurement process, GovGuam invested time and resources into business process improvement (BPI), forming cross-agency leadership and project teams with key staff from the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS), the Office of the Governor...
Jun 05, 2024•21 min
The social determinants of health (SDOH)—the social, economic, and built environments in which people live, learn, work, and play—have significant impacts on health outcomes. Yet, sustainably funding initiatives that address SDOH is an ongoing challenge. I n this episode, Admiral Rachel Levine, MD, assistant secretary for health at HHS, and Danielle Nelson, Senior Program Analyst at the Federal Transit Administration, discuss the federal government’s commitment to aligning investments and resour...
Apr 16, 2024•30 min
In 2016, Mike Fraser joined ASTHO as CEO. Throughout the seven subsequent years, he served as an indispensable leader, visionary, mentor, and friend—steering the organization through unprecedented challenges in public health, including the global COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the time has come to bid Mike a bittersweet farewell. In this episode of Public Health Review, we speak with Mike about his profound legacy, celebrate ASTHO’s extraordinary achievements under his tenure, and wish him well in his ...
Feb 28, 2024•35 min
The One Health approach recognizes the interconnection between human and animal health and their shared environment. There is an urgent need for a One Health approach now, especially in the prevention of outbreaks, not just response. Public health agencies and the animal agriculture industry play crucial roles in One Health, along with other stakeholders. In this episode, our guests tell us how they put One Health into practice in a state health department, how health departments can connect acr...
Nov 09, 2023•28 min•Ep. 86
Public health has a workforce problem: the demand for a new generation of public health practitioners is higher than ever, but health agencies are having a hard time filling positions, either due to funding or lack of visibility. Luckily, there are solutions to bridge fresh graduates to public health careers. In this episode of Public Health Review, Dr. JP Leider from the University of Minnesota and Dr. Heather Krasna of Columbia University spoke with ASTHO about solutions to recruit new public ...
Oct 12, 2023•31 min•Ep. 85
Successful overdose prevention efforts require support from public health, public safety, and community harm reduction programs. These partnerships are key to promoting sustainable and effective overdose prevention. On this episode of Public Health Review, we speak with representatives from each of these fields to discuss their perspectives, experiences, and the importance of maintaining strong relationships while also negotiating differing strategies and approaches: Brandon del Pozo, a former p...
Sep 18, 2023•33 min•Ep. 84
ASTHO’s Essentials of Leadership and Management (ELM) training gives public health experts the skills they need to better perform their supervisory positions and support their teams. On this episode, we check in with ELM graduates in Kentucky: Shannon Rome at the Franklin County Health Department, and Elizabeth Anderson-Hoagland with the Kentucky Department of Public Health. They share how the program has improved their work and helped them grow as leaders. We also hear from ASTHO’s Avia Mason a...
Aug 28, 2023•22 min•Ep. 83
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations experience profound health disparities in part due to significant social and economic barriers. Having solid data helps inform policies that can improve the systems that serve these populations and mitigate stigmas impacting the health of AI/AN mothers and infants. Centering community voices can produce more effective and equitable healthcare, reducing the disparities impacting AI/AN communities. In this episode, three experts—Ed Ehlinger (al...
Jun 21, 2023•29 min•Ep. 82
Maternal mortality rates are disproportionally high in the United States and still increasing. The majority of maternal deaths are preventable, indicating the need for system improvements. Equitable access to risk appropriate care improves maternal health outcomes and can be achieved by engaging providers in the process of developing and implementing risk appropriate care strategies at a state systems level. In this episode, two maternal healthcare veterans share approaches for bringing provider...
May 18, 2023•29 min
STIs are on the rise. Now more than ever, it is imperative to raise awareness of the current state of STIs, especially their disproportionate impact on marginalized populations. Whole person care and status-neutral approaches to STI treatment and prevention empower people to access resources and services, as well as increase engagement, outreach, and education, all of which are key components of these care models. Hear from Leandro Mena of CDC and Thomas Dobbs (alumni-MS) on the benefits of thes...
Apr 20, 2023•19 min
Like other vulnerable populations, American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities faced greater risk for complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. One such complication was ensuring that AI/AN populations had access to the vaccine. Listen to three public health experts share how they prioritized vaccine equity for AI/AN communities on the local, state, and national levels during the pandemic. Guests Anne Zink, MD, FACEP, Chief Medical Officer for Alaska Department of Health, ASTHO Pres...
Mar 30, 2023•28 min•Ep. 79
This podcast focuses on the Washington State Department of Health’s (WA DOH) approach to understanding and addressing climate and equity concerns. Guests discuss the need to continuously make connections between climate change and public health, the role of community engagement and partnerships in advancing these efforts, the use of existing networks to reach at-risk populations, and how to stay grounded in the public health messaging on climate change. WA DOH discusses some of its recent initia...
Feb 07, 2023•22 min•Ep. 78
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials was incorporated on March 23, 1942. For 80 years, ASTHO has worked to advance public health and create a healthier nation. What has that looked like in the past, and we where are we going in the years ahead? Join ASTHO’s leadership panel—including CEO Mike Fraser, President Anne Zink, Past President Nirav Shah, and Idaho Commissioner of Health Elke Shaw-Tulloch - for a discussion on the unique role ASTHO plays in the public health landsca...
Dec 20, 2022•29 min
Public health agencies had to rapidly innovate during COVID-19, and one of those innovations was virtual restaurant inspections. Beginning in March 2020, COVID-19 social distancing and stay-at-home orders required many food establishments to adopt takeout and/or food delivery models. To ensure that establishments were abiding by food safety rules and to protect the health of professionals who inspect these facilities, some state health agencies implemented virtual inspection protocols. This podc...
Dec 01, 2022•17 min
As Ebola cases grow in Uganda, state and island area health officials are preparing for the possibility of a case in the United States. While there are no U.S. cases currently, there was an outbreak of Ebola in Dallas in 2014 when Dr. David Lakey was Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. He joins this episode of Public Health Review to discuss his experience managing the outbreak and what lessons and advice he has as health officials prepare for potential cases of Ebola ...
Nov 17, 2022•18 min
Building a comprehensive workforce response to the youth mental health crisis requires educators, traditional school behavioral health workers, and public health professionals to work collaboratively. A public health approach is needed to address youth mental health by supporting frontline staff through a “helping the helpers” model. Public health and education sectors can work in tandem to train frontline school staff and create systems of support for staff well-being. This episode highlights s...
Oct 11, 2022•34 min
Health equity is a top priority for many health agencies. In an ideal implementation, public health leaders can use performance management systems to advance health equity goals. These systems ensure that progress is being made toward department goals by systematically collecting and monitoring data to track results and identify opportunities for improvement. Our latest episode highlights how the current equity efforts can integrate with established performance management practices. It also disc...
Sep 19, 2022•28 min
The Senior Leader Reserve Corps connects former government public health leaders with current state health officials in need of leadership-level technical assistance and support. ASTHO developed this program with CDC to support state health officials as they face their biggest professional challenges. In this episode, Dr. Greg Holzman (alum-MT), Paula Tran (SHO-WI), and Meredith Alexander (ASTHO) discuss this innovative program and highlight the work that Paula and Greg have done in Wisconsin to...
Aug 31, 2022•19 min
Opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy contributes to maternal death and poor birth outcomes. Although prenatal care can reduce these effects, pregnant individuals may delay care due to concerns about stereotyping and stigmatizing by providers. The relationship between a physician and their patient may also be strained by mandated reporting of substance use to law enforcement or social services, and related fears of parent-child separation and criminalization. Such fears may present addition...
Jul 27, 2022•23 min
Since 2000, rates of suicide and substance overdose mortality have steadily increased in the United States. A prevailing theory within public health is that substance use disorder and suicide are both “deaths of despair” and a way to cope with socioeconomic infrastructure challenges, such as poverty, lack of social connection, housing instability, and discrimination—issues which have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a method of preventing suicide and substance use disorder, sta...
Jun 30, 2022•22 min
COVID-19 has impacted the ways in which we prevent, detect, and treat tuberculosis (TB) infections. The pandemic presented challenges to public health and healthcare systems which may have caused delayed diagnoses, and increased new infections, however some COVID-19 mitigation measures may have positively impacted TB disease burden. What do the data tell us? What can public health do to improve TB prevention and treatment efforts? In this episode, Dr. José Romero (SHO-AR) and Dr. Philip LoBue (D...
May 12, 2022•26 min
Older-adult health has been increasingly on the radar of public health agencies over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, it prompted new or enhanced partnerships with their sibling agencies. As the population of older adults continues to grow, it is crucial for public health agencies to join partners in the aging network to create systems that support healthy aging. In this podcast episode, Jewel Mullen (alumni-CT) offers perspectives on the value of cultivating partnerships between s...
Apr 21, 2022•27 min
The expansion of federal and state telehealth flexibilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic loosened policy restrictions and improved access to telehealth for millions of people, although challenges remain for certain under resourced populations. As telehealth continues to take off, there are questions around how public health agencies are engaging in telehealth activities. Each public health department operates differently and offers a varying perspective on how they implement and support tele...
Apr 06, 2022•29 min
Public health agencies work around the clock to prepare for and respond to public health threats, including infectious diseases, natural disasters, clinical care emergencies, and more. While advanced preparedness planning is invaluable, past and current emergencies also serve as critical learning opportunities to inform future public health responses. In this episode, Haley Cash (Pacific Island Health Officers Association) and Secretary Jack Niedenthal (Republic of the Marshall Islands) share in...
Mar 23, 2022•23 min
