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. In 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 resources across agencies. In addition, Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, provides a practical example of how Michigan’s state health agency works collaboratively with the housing authority to ensure access to stable housing.

Guests:

Admiral Rachel Levine, MD: Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS

Elizabeth Hertel: Director, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Danielle Nelson: Senior Program Analyst, Federal Transit Administration

Resources:

Braiding and Layering Funding to Address the Social Determinants of Health

Public Health Review Morning Edition

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 new position as CEO at the College of American Pathologists.

Behind the Scenes: What it Takes to do COVID Testing

Public Health Review Morning Edition

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 across agencies to address One Health issues, and what falls under the One Health umbrella.  

 Guests 

Dr. Karen Smith, MD, MPH: Founding Partner, Healthy Community Partners, Inc 

J.J. Jones: Executive Director of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture 

Dr. Megin Nichols DVM, MPH, DACVPM: Deputy Division Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, CDC 

Resources 

ASTHO One Health Case Studies 

ASTHO One Health Webinars 

ASTHO Responding to Emerging Food Safety Threats Policy Statement 

CDC Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases 

CDC One Health Office 

National Institute for Animal Agriculture

Public Health Review Morning Edition

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 health professionals and the partnerships forming around that endeavor.

Guests:

JP Leider, PhD: Director, Center for Public Health Systems, University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Heather Krasna, PhD: Associate Dean, Career and Professional Development, Columbia University School of Public Health

Resources:

Public Health Careers

Consortium for Workforce Research in Public Health

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 police officer and current assistant professor of medicine and public health at Brown University; Joy Rucker of the Black Harm Reduction Network; and Dr. Cathy Slemp, former state health commissioner of West Virginia and current vice chair of the West Virginia Hope in Action Alliance.

Guests:

Brandon del Pozo, PhD: Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University

Joy Rucker: National Harm Reduction Consultant, JR Harm Reduction Consulting

Cathy Slemp, MD, MPH (alumni-WV): Co-Founder and Vice Chair, West Virginia Hope in Action Alliance

Resources:

https://www.astho.org/globalassets/brief/od2a-public-health-public-safety-partnerships.pdf

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 about ELM, its impact on public health practitioners, and how programs like ELM can improve organizational culture and workplace wellbeing.

Guests:

Shannan Rome, Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) Manager, Franklin County Health Department

Elizabeth Anderson-Hoagland, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Kentucky Department of Public Health Division of Prevention and Quality Improvement

Avia Mason, Vice President of Leadership and Organizational Performance, ASTHO

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 (alumni-MN), a previous past president of ASTHO; Janelle Palacios, a nurse midwife and researcher; and Katelyn Strasser, administrator of the Office of Child and Family Services with the South Dakota Department of Health—discuss the Federal Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality’s most recent report on AI/AN health outcomes and the data-focused recommendations for states and territories.

Guests:

·       Edward P. Ehlinger, MD, MSP: former Minnesota Health Commissioner and past president of ASTHO

·       Janelle Palacios, PhD: Salish & Kootenai, originally from the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana; Nurse Midwife, Researcher, and Storyteller

·       Katelyn Strasser, MPH: Administrator of the Office of Child and Family Services, South Dakota Department of Health

Resources:

·       Making Amends: Recommended Strategies and Actions to Improve the Health and Safety of American Indian and Alaska Native Mothers and Infants

·       Strengthening Risk-Appropriate Care in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

ASTHO thanks the CDC for its support of this episode of Public Health Review.

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 providers into the process, as well as how state health officials can promote risk appropriate care strategies and address challenges in achieving equitable risk appropriate care. 

Show Notes

Guests

·       Eugene C. Toy, MD, FACOG, FABFM, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Medical Director of ACOG Texas Levels of Maternal Care Verification Program

·       Lily Lou (alumni-AK), MD, FAAP, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

Resources

·       Risk Appropriate Care Stakeholder Convenings

·       Strengthening Risk-Appropriate Care in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

·       CDC Levels of Care Assessment ToolSM (CDC LOCATeSM)

·       Levels of Maternal Care (ACOG)