Dr. Sarah Nosal, President-Elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, discusses the importance of family physicians in regard to mental health; Amelia Poulin, ASTHO Assistant Director of Emerging Infectious Disease at ASTHO, explains why a Disease Intervention Specialist is so important; an ASTHO webinar today, May 22nd at 2 p.m. ET, explores how regional data ecosystems can power smarter public health decisions; and an ASTHO resource walks you through the best ways to integrate sustainability into your implementation of the Healthy Brain Initiative.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Web Page: Mental Health Awareness Month

American Academy of Family Physicians Web Page

ASTHO Web Page: Prioritizing Cases and Contacts: Considerations for STI Programs During Emergency Response

ASTHO Webinar: INSPIRE – Readiness - Building a Data-Ready Ecosystem for Public Health Response

ASTHO Web Page: Integrating Sustainability Into Healthy Brain Initiative Implementation

Julia McIlroy, Procurement Content Manager for the National Association of State Procurement Officials, discusses administrative preparedness for public health emergencies; Lillian Colasurdo, ASTHO Director of Public Health Law and Data Sharing, tells us about legislative trends regarding mosquito control; an ASTHO webinar on Thursday, May 29th will focus on how defined levels of maternal care can reduce maternal mortality and improve outcomes; and Dr. Manisha Juthani, ASTHO President-Elect and the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, recently delivered a commencement address.

ASTHO Webinar: Strengthening Administrative Preparedness in Public Health Agencies

ASTHO Blog Article: Legislative Trends for Mosquito Control in the United States

ASTHO Webinar: Defining Care, Saving Lives – The Role of Levels of Maternal Care in Mortality Reduction

Kimberly Shoaf, Professor of Public Health and the Director of the Rocky Mountains and High Plains Center for Emergency Public Health, discusses how a data-ready ecosystem for public health response can be beneficial; Ashley Cram, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Population Health, tells us about ASTHO’s new web page dedicated to the support of Community Health Workers in island jurisdictions; and the Be Ready for Measles toolkit from CDC is online now.

ASTHO Webinar: INSPIRE – Readiness - Building a Data-Ready Ecosystem for Public Health Response

ASTHO Web Page: Tools That Support Community Health Worker Programs in Island Jurisdictions

CDC Web Page: Be Ready for Measles Toolkit

ASTHO Public Health Review Podcast Episode: Why We Serve – An Inside Look at Public Health AmeriCorps

Dr. Susan Kansagra, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, provides updates on Measles and the Avian Flu; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, explains how Tennessee is building a better healthcare system for older Americans; on May 22nd, ASTHO’s next INSPIRE: Readiness webinar focused on data-ready ecosystems will take place; and Dr. Puthiery Va, ASTHO Member and the Maine CDC Director, recently spoke about youth mental health at an event.

Older Americans Month Web Page

Tennessee Web Page: Department of Disability and Aging

Tennessee Department of Health Web Page: Office of Healthy Aging

ASTHO Webinar: INSPIRE – Readiness – Building a Data-Ready Ecosystem for Public Health Response

Dr. Sameer Vohra, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and an ASTHO Member, tells us why his department wanted to create a dashboard focused on measles; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO Senior Director of Government Affairs, recaps a busy few weeks on Capitol Hill in this week’s View From Washington D.C. Report; and Dr. Ralph Alvarado, ASTHO Member and Tennessee Commissioner of Health, and ASTHO Alum Dr. Georges Benjamin, will give commencement speeches at the Meharry Medical College.

Illinois Department of Public Health News Release: IDPH Rolls Out New Measles Simulator Dashboard to Empower School Officials to Protect Students and Staff from Outbreaks

Meharry Medical College Web Page: Commencement Speakers

ASTHO Web Page: Subscribe

Alex Karydi, State and Territory Initiatives Director at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, details a recent assessment from SPRC that looked at the ability of states and territories to prevent suicide successfully; Emily Lapayowker, ASTHO’s Assistant Director of Web, uses Global Accessibility Awareness Day to explain why digital access and inclusion are so important; publichealthcareers.org might be where you find your next great hire; and ASTHO Alum, Dr. Umair Shah, received an award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center Web Page: State and Territorial Suicide Prevention Needs Assessment Homepage

Suicide Prevention Resource Center Web Page: State Suicide Prevention Infrastructure Recommendations

Global Accessibility Awareness Day Web Page

ASTHO Brief: Website Accessibility – Enhancing Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Registration and Beyond

PublicHealthCareers.org

Brittany Giles-Cantrell, Program Director at the de Beaumont Foundation, tells us why de Beaumont’s 40 Under 40 in Public Health program is so valuable; Catherine Jones, ASTHO Government Affairs Senior Analyst, tells us her journey to ASTHO in this week’s “Get to Know ASTHO” segment; an interactive ASTHO tool compiles data to help your health agency in identifying measures for your suicide prevention programs; and ASTHO’s “Strengthening Administrative Preparedness” webinar will dive into everything you need to know for public health agency preparedness.

de Beaumont Foundation Web Page: 40 Under 40 in Public Health – Nominations

ASTHO Web Page: Suicide Indicator Tool

ASTHO Webinar: Strengthening Administrative Preparedness in Public Health Agencies

Esther Muña, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and Territorial Health Official for the Northern Mariana Islands, explains how their Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) funds allowed them to improve security and integrate care through a new electronic health record system; Jerry Larkin, Director of the Department of Health of Rhode Island, describes how PHIG has been an asset to his department in preventing illness and enabling advancements; Jacki Tulafono, Division Head for the Department of Health in American Samoa, shares how PHIG dollars support key functions at their agency, allowing them to provide services to those that need it most.

PHIG Partners Web Page

PHIG Newsletter

Rita Condon, Program Manager for obesity, nutrition, and physical activity with the Department of Health in New Mexico, discusses the agency’s annual child obesity update and the new initiatives in place to promote healthy eating; Andy Baker-White, Senior Director for State Health Policy at ASTHO, reports a new legislative trend of banning certain food dyes and additives in states across the country; ASTHO’s INSPIRE Readiness webinar on the importance of regional data in decision-making takes place May 22nd; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO past president and former Alaska State Health Officer, was appointed to the Steering Committee for the Vaccine Integrity Project.

New Mexico Childhood Obesity 2024 Report

ASTHO: States Moving to Prohibit Additives and Dyes in Food

ASTHO: INSPIRE: Readiness - Building a Data-Ready Ecosystem for Public Health Response

Vaccine Integrity Project

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s new Health and Environment Laboratories improve the state's ability to respond to disease outbreaks and health threats; Get to know Catherine Murphy; the impact of the Public Health AmeriCorps program at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services; the Pennsylvania Department of Health celebrates 120 years; and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation of the Northern Mariana Islands has been awarded a 2025 Network of Practice Grant from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

New Kansas Health & Environment Laboratories

AmeriCorps in Action: Strengthening Public Health in Iowa

PA Department of Health Celebrates 120 Years of Service

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation of the Northern Mariana Islands awarded a 2025 Network of Practice Grant