Dr. Dave Dixon, a clinical pharmacist and a member of the American College of Cardiology's Prevention Section and Leadership Council, tells us how public health teams can apply the message of World Heart Day in their jurisdictions; Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO's Director of Leadership and Workforce, explains how the new PHWins survey of the public health workforce can help inform personnel funding decisions; ASTHO highlights three job openings; and an ASTHO microlearning helps members navigate and implement the new Healthy People 2030 report.

ACC Website: Cardiosmart.org

Webpage: PH Wins

JPHMP: Public health workforce interests and needs survey (PH Wins)

ASTHO: Job opportunities

ASTHO Learning: Preparing for Healthy People 2030

Report: Healthy People 2030

Karl Ensign, ASTHO's Vice President for Territorial Support, discusses the potential for Congressional action to approve enhanced financial support for Medicaid services in the U.S. Territories, as a Thursday deadline nears; Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisiana State Health Officer and Medical Director, makes plans to offer pandemic-related testimony before Congress on Wednesday; ASTHO previews a new episode of the Public Health Review podcast exploring the importance of crisis communications during the pandemic; and we share details of an ASTHO blog article about legislative approaches to PFAS substances.

Hybrid hearing on "Upgrading public health infrastructure: The need to protect, rebuild, and strengthen state and local public health departments."

ASTHO Blog Article: Regulating and remediating PFAS in states

Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO's Director of Leadership and Workforce, discusses the impact the COVID-19 pandemic might have on the results of the latest PHWins survey now in the field; Dr. Ed Ehlinger, Minnesota's former state health commissioner, explores the health of babies in the U.S. and steps states and territories can take to ensure infants are doing well, even during the pandemic; a new ASTHO blog article surveys legislative measures to ensure crisis readiness; and the CDC prepares to allocate nearly a billion dollars in grant money next month to help fight infections in hospitals and other health care facilities.

Webpage: PH Wins

JPHMP: Public health workforce interests and needs survey (PH Wins)

CDC Webpage: Infant Mortality Month

ASTHO Resource: State home visiting approaches improve early childhood outcomes and systems

ASTHO Blog Article: The importance of family engagement in breastfeeding programs

ASTHO Blog Article: Health policy tackles joint challenges of pandemic and natural disaster preparedness

CDC: CDC to invest $2.1 billion to protect patients and healthcare workers from COVID-19 and future infectious diseases

CDC Searchable Funding Table

NOTE: CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced late Thursday that booster shots would be available to frontline and health care workers, overruling the ACIP vote against covering those groups. This decision was announced after Morning Edition's deadline. ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia explains several votes taken by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Thursday, including one against COVID-19 booster shots for people with occupational or institutional risks; Dr. Ed Ehlinger, former commissioner of health from Minnesota, gives his take on the state of infant health in the United States; and we report on a new ASTHO guide for states and territories considering a gap analysis to assess administrative policies and procedures.

CDC Webpage: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

CDC Webpage: Infant Mortality Month

ASTHO Resource: State home visiting approaches improve early childhood outcomes and systems

ASTHO Blog Article: The importance of family engagement in breastfeeding programs

ASTHO Resource: Guide on conducting an administrative policy assessment and gap analysis

ASTHO releases a legislative alert on the status of Congressional negotiations to extend the federal debt limit; Ray Barishansky, Deputy Secretary for Health Preparedness and Community Protection at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, considers the state of emergency preparedness efforts, twenty years after 9/11; Dr. Joshua Starr, CEO of PDK International, explains the value of constant communication with parents navigating the perils of the pandemic; and ASTHO posts a new blog article discussing the important role pharmacies play in the response to public health emergencies.

ASTHO Legislative Alert: Continuing Resolution analysis

ASTHO Article: Twenty years after 9/11 – The public health preparedness we need now

PDK International Webpage: PDK poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools

ASTHO Blog Article: Pharmacies are critical to pandemic planning, not just response

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's Chief Medical Officer and ASTHO President-elect, considers the potential for COVID-19 booster shots for some populations; Nick Porter, ASTHO's Director for Environmental Health, explains how members can benefit from a new dashboard; ASTHO has fresh job openings; and a blog article provides samples of legislation expanding access to Naloxone to prevent opioid overdoses.

CDC Webpage: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

ASTHO Resource: Environmental health programs and services portal

ASTHO Webpage: Careers at ASTHO

ASTHO Blog Article: Increasing Naloxone accessibility to prevent opioid overdoses

Dr. Joshua Starr, CEO of PDK International, explains how polling parents of school children can inform public health messaging; Andy Baker-White, ASTHO's Senior Director for State Health Policy, discusses the impact of new state laws rolling back authorities used to protect public health; and we highlight an ASTHO Brief examining the healthcare digital divide.

PDK International Webpage: PDK poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools

Kaiser Health News: Over half of states have rolled back public health powers in pandemic

ASTHO Brief: Bridging the digital divide in healthcare to improve access to care

Haley Burrous, an analyst on ASTHO's preparedness team, explains a positive side effect of Mississippi's in-home vaccination program; Adrienne Williams, a disability specialist working with the Mississippi State Department of Health, talks about the opportunity to expand vaccination efforts in neighborhoods; Dr. Deb Stone, a behavioral scientist and the team lead for the CDC's suicide prevention efforts, discusses tools for ASTHO members who want to improve local suicide prevention programs; and ASTHO releases a blog article explaining how some states are adopting crisis standards of care.

ASTHO Brief: Strategies for vaccinating people who are homebased

CDC Resource: Preventing suicide - A technical package of policy, programs, and practices

ASTHO Blog Article: Scarce medical resources caused by COVID-19 lead to difficult allocation decisions

Dr. Norman Oliver, Virginia's Health Commissioner, discusses the approach states and territories should take to funding for the public health workforce; ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia reacts to a new CDC/Trust for America's Health report on obesity in the U.S.; and ASTHO releases the findings of its annual scan of issues important to state and territorial health agencies.

ASTHO Statement: ASTHO encourages immediate action to address the rising obesity rates in the wake of COVID-19

ASTHO: Workforce resources

ASTHO News Release: New report on the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health workers presents concerning data on workforce well-being

ASTHO Brief: Performance management essentials

Amelia Poulin, an ASTHO Senior Analyst for Infectious Disease Outbreak Response and Recovery, details an expanded contact tracing training curriculum for case investigators and teams doing COVID-19 work; CDC's Dr. Lisa Grohskopf and Joynetta Kelly talk about the coming flu season and possible vaccination fatigue; and we preview an article written by Dr. Esther Muna, Chief Executive Officer of the CNMI Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, about a looming Sept. 30th deadline for Medicaid funding in the Territories.

CDC Webpage: Influenza vaccine recommendations

CDC Webpage: Flu information for health professionals

ASTHO Training: Making contact – A training for COVID-19 case investigators and contact tracers

The Hill: Devastating decisions loom for the territories if Congress does not act by Sept. 30