Dr. Jennifer Shuford, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and an ASTHO Member, discusses her state’s updated data dashboards; Dr. Jessica Nelson, Program Director and Epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, says new urine tests can detect exposure to more than 70 different environmental chemicals; the third convening of the STRETCH 2.0 Initiative will take place on Sept. 18th; and the CDC recently released a national strategy to prevent and control vector-borne diseases in people.

Texas Health and Human Services Web Page: New Data Tools Provide Insights on Maternal and Child Health

CDC Web Page: Healthy Kids Minnesota – Creating a Better World

ASTHO Webinar: Grounding Leadership and Engagement in Psychological Safety to Promote a Culture of Equity

CDC Web Page: National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People

Geetika Nadkarni, ASTHO’s Director of Infectious Diseases, discusses work to increase vaccine acceptance and uptake; Dr. Mikeisha Oldson, Senior Program Associate at NNPHI, previews an upcoming meeting for new public health workers focused on professional development and mentorship; and ASTHO has tools and resources to help you better support your workforce.

ASTHO Blog Article: Partnering with Community Action Agencies Can Improve Trust in Vaccines

ASTHO Toolkit: Championing Change – A Toolkit for Addressing Vaccine Equity Through Community Mobilization

NNPHI Web Page: Open Forum Next Generation

NNPHI Web Page: Open Forum – Next Generation (NxGen)

ASTHO Web Page: Public Health Workforce

Dr. Valerie Yeager, Interim Director of the Center for Health Policy at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, discusses the need for public health to update hiring practices; Willysha Jenkins, Senior Advisor for Data Modernization and Informatics at the Public Health Accreditation Board, tells us about an upcoming webinar focused on the new Public Health Data Modernization Implementation Center Program; and an ASTHO blog article recaps a two-day, in-person workshop that brought together leadership from Island Areas.

Health Affairs Web Page: When Money Is Not Enough – Reimagining Public Health Requires Systematic Solutions To Hiring Barriers

ASTHO Webinar: PHIG Implementation Center Informational Webinar

ASTHO Blog Article: Strengthening Leadership, Risk Communications, and Preparedness in the Islands

ASTHO Web Page: Stay Informed

Dr. Lindsay Weaver, State Health Commissioner of Indiana, discusses the state’s record investment in public health; an ASTHO blog article details behavioral health-related workforce initiatives happening across the states and territories; and ASTHO has created a tool to help evaluate Health in All Policies strategies.

Health First Indiana Web Page

ASTHO Blog Article: Efforts to Boost Behavioral Health Workforce

ASTHO Resource: Health in All Policies Evaluation Tool for State and Local Health Departments

ASTHO Web Page: Stay Informed

ASTHO hosted a Respiratory Virus Season Deskside Briefing attended by national media outlets with Dr. Marcus Plescia, Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge, Dr. Sameer Vohra, and Dr. Manisha Juthani; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO Senior Director of Government Affairs, discusses the work his team is doing while Congress is in recess; and an ASTHO webinar will help you create a performance management system.

ASTHO Media Briefing on Preparations for Respiratory Virus Season

ASTHO Webinar: Operationalizing Performance Management in a Health Department

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, updates us on COVID rates across the country; Robert Jennings, Executive Director of the National Public Health Information Coalition, tells us how AI could benefit public health communication; and an ASTHO webinar will explore strategies for public outreach and increasing awareness of PPC services.

ASTHO Web Page: COVID-19

Journal of Public Health Management & Practice Article: Leveraging AI for Public Health Communication: Opportunities and Risks

ASTHO Webinar: Implementation of Pharmacist-Prescribed Contraception – Public Outreach & Awareness

Angie Smith-Butterwick, Substance Use, Gambling and Epidemiology Manager for the State of Michigan, tells us about a pilot program that offers small incentives to people if they stay on approved substance use treatment plans; Ashley Nanthanvongsa-Mosley, gives an update on PublicHealthCareers.org; and the Healthy People framework guides national public health priorities every 10 years.

Michigan Web Page: Recovery Incentives Pilot

PublicHealthCareers.org

ASTHO Resource: Healthy People Coordinator Description Template

Dr. Umair Shah, Secretary of Health for the State of Washington, outlines the Be Well Washington campaign; two leaders from ”WE in the World” share how collaboration helps create the conditions that lead to better public health; Andre Pierce, Director of the Division of Retail Food Protection in the Office of State Cooperative Programs at the FDA, discusses a new tool designed to help restaurant operators address illness among their staff; and a new CDC health advisory warns about an increasing number of cases of the Oropouche Virus across the Americas.

Be Well WA Web Page

ASTHO Resource: The Keys to Driving Generational Health, Well-Being, and Justice

FDA Employee Health Policy Tool

CDC Web Page: Increased Oropouche Virus Activity and Associated Risk to Travelers

Tom Cotter, Executive Director of Healthcare Ready, explains how Healthcare Ready could assist public health leaders in a disaster; Wendy Bell, Environmental Health Supervisor for Mecklenburg County Public Health, discusses the North Carolina Retail Program Standards Network; an ASTHO webinar will cover the Public Health Data Modernization Implementation Center Program; and an episode of ASTHO’s Public Health Review podcast explores how state health departments are expanding health equity through innovative programs.

Healthcare Ready Web Page

ASTHO Brief: Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards)

ASTHO Webinar: PHIG Implementation Center Informational Webinar

ASTHO Web Page: Breaking Barriers – Securing Partnerships to Advance Health Equity

Maggie Davis, ASTHO Director of State Health Policy, updates us on movements that could reshape public health authority; Emily Fine, School and Youth Survey Manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, discusses the results of the Healthy Kids Colorado survey; and a new ASTHO guide shows how health equity metrics help island areas understand community issues and improve health equity.

ASTHO Blog Article: State Legislatures Reshape Public Health Legal Authority

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment News Release: CDPHE releases the latest Healthy Kids Colorado Survey data

ASTHO Report: Using Health Equity Indicators to Guide Community Health Improvement in U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States

ASTHO Web Page: Stay Informed