Public Health Review Morning Edition

ASTHO announces a new resiliency program to support the strained public health workforce; Avia Mason, ASTHO's Vice President of Learning Strategy, outlines the plan for the organization's Washington Week gathering next week; and Cortney Lovell describes a self-guided online training that teaches ASTHO members about recovery peer services for people battling substance use. ASTHO News Release: ASTHO Launches Resiliency Program to Support Public Health Workforce ASTHO Blog Article: A New Year, A New Plan ASTHO: Recovery Peer Services Training Program

Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Idaho's State Health Officer, shares her state's approach to addressing mental health concerns; ASTHO's Maggie Davis authors a blog article on legislative efforts impacting mental health; Carolyn McCoy, ASTHO's Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, helps members understand the Prevent Pandemics Act under development on Capitol Hill; and ASTHO offers an online learning module to guide agencies through the CDC's Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map Series. ASTHO Policy Prospectus: Supporting Mental and Behavioral Health ASTHO Blog Article: ASTHO Policy Watch 2022 – Mental Health ASTHO E-Learning Module: Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Road Map Module

Margret Cooke, Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health, examines the value of public health authority when responding to a public health emergency; Alison Beam, Pennsylvania's former acting Secretary of Health, says the response forced by COVID-19 has improved services for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities in her state; and Richard Hamburg, Executive Director of the Safe States Alliance, shares the findings of a report that examines the pandemic's impact on injury and prevention violence programs. ASTHO Health Policy Prospectus: Maintaining Public Health's Legal Authority to Prevent Disease Spread ASTHO Webpage: Public Health Review Podcast Safe States Alliance Report: Crisis Amidst COVID-19 – The State of Injury and Violence Prevention in Health Departments and Hospitals

Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, says the COVID-19 virus may be in a welcomed retreat; Dr. Joe Gaugler tells us why organizers of a new conference on dementia caregiving planned for June in Minneapolis want public health professionals to know more about the subject; and ASTHO launches a new website. Register: The Public Health Opportunities and Challenges of Dementia Caregiving conference Website: The Public Health Opportunities and Challenges of Dementia Caregiving conference

Julie Scofield, Project Director for the Community COVID Coalition, a project of the CDC Foundation, reports on the results of a months-long social media campaign to convince younger adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine; and Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO's President-Elect and Alaska's Chief Medical Officer, answers a question about vaccine uptake during a panel discussion hosted by the Washington Post and moderated by national health reporter Dan Diamond. Community COVID Coalition: Social Media Assets Vaccines Community COVID Coalition: COVID-19 and Social Media – Best Practices to Reach Your Communities Washington Post Event: Coronavirus – Impact on Hospitals ASTHO News Release: ASTHO Unveils Top 10 Public Health State Policy Issues to Watch in 2022

Zarnaaz Bashir, ASTHO's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, says the organization's new strategic plan was created during and influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic; Dr. Robert Bourgeois, an occupational and environmental health expert working along the U.S. Gulf Coast, explains how difficult it is to manage pandemic health protocols in a remote work environment, like an off-shore drilling rig; and we look forward to Dr. Anne Zink's comments about COVID-19's impact on hospitals during a panel discussion hosted by the Washington Post. Dr. Zink is ASTHO's President-Elect and Alaska's Chief Medical Officer. ASTHO Blog Article: A New Year, A New Plan

Dr. David Adinaro, New Jersey's Deputy Commissioner for Public Health, evaluates the state of the nation's public health data and information infrastructure; Dr. Joseph Gaugler, Director of the BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia Caregiving at the University of Minnesota, promotes a new conference on dementia for public health professionals; and Alison Beam, Pennsylvania's former Acting Secretary of Health, describes a COVID-19 vaccination clinic model her team developed with a Philadelphia hospital partner for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ASTHO Health Policy Prospectus: Data Modernization and Privacy Protections Register: The Public Health Opportunities and Challenges of Dementia Caregiving conference Website: The Public Health Opportunities and Challenges of Dementia Caregiving conference ASTHO Webpage: Public Health Review podcast

Alan Roberson, Executive Director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, explains the growing interest in the risks of PFAS chemicals and the challenges some jurisdictions encounter when they want to do something about them; Phil Rooney with the Douglas County Health Department in Omaha, Nebraska, says it's vital to keep a close eye on social media misinformation and disinformation and even more important to have a plan when rumors start spreading online; and David Carey, a disability advocate, says the 11th Annual African American Conference on Disabilities is for anyone interested in disability issues. ASTHO Health Policy Prospectus: PFAS – Regulating Toxic Compounds ASDWA Webpage: PFAS ASDWA White Paper: Lessons Learned from States and Challenges Ahead in Setting State-Level Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Standards NPHIC Webpage: Public Health Speaks podcast Register: 11th Annual African American Conference on Disabilities

Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a former public health official in Maryland and principal deputy commissioner at the FDA from 2009 until 2011, says continued public confusion over testing, booster doses, and medications could be improved if two federal agencies thrown into the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic could find a way to work more closely together; Safe States Alliance Executive Director Richard Hamburg says many public health jurisdictions have had challenges implementing equity approaches into their injury and violence prevention work; and Kristin Ahrens, Pennsylvania's Deputy Secretary for the Office of Developmental Programs, says telehealth has been a critical tool in helping serve people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities during the pandemic. New York Times Opinion: The CDC and FDA Can Work Better Together Safe States Alliance: Injury and Violence Prevention Health Equity Scan ASTHO Webpage: Public Health Review

Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO's Director of Workforce Development, explains how states and territories are working to help a weary public health workforce survive the pandemic; and we share details about the 11th annual African American Conference on Disabilities happening now through February 17th. ASTHO Health Policy Prospectus: COVID-19 Pandemic Further Strains Public Health Workforce ASTHO Blog Article: ASTHO Policy Watch – Public Health Workforce ASTHO News Release: ASTHO Unveils Top 10 Public Health State Policy Issues to Watch in 2022 Registration Link: 11th Annual African American Conference on Disabilities