Public Health Review ASTHO

The Government of Guam (GovGuam)— along with many other states, territories, and freely associated states — experience s challenges with procurement, which were illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic response. To improve their small purchase procurement process, GovGuam invested time and resources into business process improvement (BPI), forming cross-agency leadership and project teams with key staff from the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS), the Office of the Governor of Guam, and other government agencies to inform decisions. Learn about the benefits and challenges of their efforts, and listen to their hopes for the future.
Guests
·       Arthur San Agustin: Special Assistant of Health to the Governor of Guam, Former Director of Guam DPHSS, ASTHO Alum
·       Bertha Taijeron: Program Coordinator, Guam DPHSS
·       Jon Junior Calvo: Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor of Guam
Resources
Grants Management Office Structure Optimization Toolkit assists in establishing and maintaining a centralized grants management office to optimize the use of federal funding. ASTHO STAR Center provides high quality resources, tools, and model practices that modernize and strengthen administrative and organizational capacity. Business process improvement efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands offer insight into improving federal grants management: Interagency Collaboration to Improve Business Processes in the U.S. Virgin Islands How the U.S. Virgin Islands Is Improving Federal Grants Management U.S. Virgin Islands Federal Grants Planning and Set Up Process Improvement USVI – Business Processes Improvement Boundary Spanning Leadership workshops focus on leveraging boundaries to benefit a group or an entire organization. Using Boundary Spanning Leadership to Improve Population Health details GovGuam’s Boundary Spanning efforts. Public Health Review Morning Edition

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