StatePublicHealth.org

• What to Know About the American Rescue Plan

  One of President Biden’s first actions just before being sworn into office was to draft up the American Rescue Plan, a sweeping proposal that ASTHO has committed to working with the Biden Administration on. The proposal offers a national vaccination plan, a promise to address COVID-19 health disparities, and efforts to prioritize the expansion the public health workforce. This post details some of the high-level takeaways, as they relate to public health.

• Maternal Mortality in the U.S.: How States Are Working to Reverse the Rate

  Two rising health trends are negatively affecting women’s health across the United States: maternal mortality (death from pregnancy or delivery complications) and severe maternal morbidity (mental and physical health consequences from a pregnancy or delivery.) Maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) are one of the best ways to gather information on why pregnancy-related deaths occur and how to prevent them. Studies show that MMRCs can reduce maternal mortality by 20-50% since they examine the underlying causes of maternal mortality, use data to identify gaps in care, and inform a focused approach to prevent deaths and reduce disparities.

• Reflections on Black History Month: A Q&A with Gail Christopher and Michael Fraser

  As Black History Month comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on racial equity and how it is intrinsically connected to the work ASTHO does every day in public health. We spoke to our CEO Michael Fraser and Gail Christopher, DN, the executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity, to get their thoughts on the month and how we can prioritize diversity and inclusion year-round. .