Dr. Karen Smith, Former Director of the California Department of Public Health, tells us about the early days of her career; Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of Trust for America's Health, details the Ready or Not Report which gets specific about areas that need improvement; Dr. Josh Wymer, Chief Health Information and Data Strategy Officer with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, reflects on this year’s takeaways from the annual HIMSS Global Health Conference; and ASTHO is hosting a program for immersive leadership development in April.

Trust for America’s Health Webpage: Ready or Not 2024 – Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism

ASTHO Webinar: Leadership Accelerator – Fast-Track Your Skills with ELM - Cohort 1

Susan Bsharah, Associate Director at Guidehouse, discusses an upcoming TEFCA webinar set for April 4; Elizabeth Hertel, Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and an ASTHO Member, tells us about the “Good Housing Good Health” initiative; Dr. Pattie Tucker, Director of the Office of Women's Health at the CDC, talks about the Power of Partnerships Health Equity Alliance; and an ASTHO blog article lists 7 public health podcast to listen to in 2024.

ASTHO Webinar: TEFCA Overview and Perspectives from the Field

Michigan Health and Human Services Webpage: MDHHS and MSHDA launch "Good Housing = Good Health" program

ASTHO Blog Article: Seven Public Health Podcasts to Listen to in 2024

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, updates us on the Long COVID situation; Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of Health for the State of Vermont, tells us about ASTHO’s recently updated policy statement on adverse childhood experiences; and Dr. Tara Kirk Sell, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discusses a new playbook to help public health agencies deal with online misinformation.

Long COVID Update Webpage

ASTHO Webpage: Adverse Childhood Experiences Policy Statement

Practical Playbook for Addressing Health Misinformation

ASTHO Webpage: Stay Informed

Dr. Debra Bogen, Acting Secretary of Health for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and ASTHO Member, discusses Pennsylvania’s work to expand overdose training to many different populations; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO Senior Analyst for State Health Policy, discusses the part Public Health plays in helping transportation partners; and an ASTHO webinar will explain more about how TEFCA will help public health.

 Pennsylvania Webpage: Department Of Health Offers New Training To Fight The Overdose Crisis

 ASTHO Blog Article: Stroads? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Stroads

 ASTHO Webinar: TEFCA Overview and Perspectives from the Field

 ASTHO Webpage: Stay Informed

Marissa Esser, CDC Alcohol Program Lead, discusses the steep rise in deaths from excessive alcohol use; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, gives an update on the public health funding situation; and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health along with the Public Health AmeriCorps tell us about cultivating future public health leaders.

CDC Webpage: Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021

ASTHO Webpage: Legislative Alerts

ASTHO Blog Article: Building Public Health Leaders: Voices from Public Health AmeriCorps

ASTHO Webpage: Stay Informed

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, tells us ASTHO continues to focus on improving heart health in our island areas; Lisa Peterson, ASTHO Senior Director for Preparedness, discusses the upcoming 2024 Preparedness Summit; and an ASTHO report highlights successful partnerships between state health agencies and transportation sectors to address health disparities in accessing care.

ASTHO Blog Article: Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in the Pacific Territories

2024 Preparedness Summit Webpage

ASTHO Report: Braiding and Layering Funding to Address the Social Determinants of Health

Dr. Alison Athey, Associate Behavioral Scientist at RAND, worked with her colleagues to take a deeper look at the impact of overdose deaths; Connie Moon Sehat, Principal Investigator of the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust Project, says the project aims to develop a set of guidelines around AI use for health communicators; an ASTHO blog article outlines opportunities for the improvement of workplace wellness; and PublicHealthCareers.org is a great place to find a rewarding career in public health.

American Journal of Public Health Article: An Overlooked Emergency – More Than One in Eight US Adults Have Had Their Lives Disrupted by Drug Overdose Deaths

Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust Webpage: Ethical Use of AI in Public Health Communications

ASTHO Blog Article: Prioritizing Well-Being in the Public Health Workforce

PublicHealthCareers.org Webpage

Dr. Michelle Mello, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine, studied state lawmakers’ response to the use of public health authority during the pandemic; Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, Chief Science Officer at the Washington Department of Health, discusses the vending machines filled with COVID and Flu tests that are popping up all over Washington; and ASTHO’s speakers bureau can help you find the person to take your event to the next level.

British Medical Journal Webpage: Legal infrastructure for pandemic response – lessons not learnt in the US

Washington State Department of Health Webpage: Department of Health unveils kiosks that offer free COVID-19 and flu tests

ASTHO Webpage: Speakers Bureau

ASTHO Webpage: Stay Informed

Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of Trust for America's Health, discusses the 21st edition of the Ready or Not Report; Catherine Jones, ASTHO Government Affairs Senior Analyst, tells us ASTHO’s Hill Day program in late February continues to receive high marks; and an ASTHO webinar on the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement with ASTHO President Dr. Steven Stack, will take place in April.

Trust for America’s Health Webpage: Ready or Not 2024 – Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism

ASTHO Blog Article: State and Territorial Health Officials Convene First On-site Hill Day Since COVID

ASTHO Webinar: TEFCA Overview and Perspectives from the Field

Dr. Harris, State Health Officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health and ASTHO Member, recalls his recent visit to Congress a few weeks ago; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO Senior Director for Government Affairs, says ASTHO continues to talk with elected leaders about the President’s proposed budget released earlier this week; and Dr. Susan Kansagra, North Carolina Public Health Director and ASTHO Member, discusses the significance of Women’s History Month.

ASTHO Webpage: President Biden Releases FY25 Budget Proposal

ASTHO Webpage: Stay Informed