After a year and a half of work as embedded disability specialists, 5 program participants share their reflections on important lessons learned and why disability inclusion is critical to the future of emergency preparedness.
In 2021, ASTHO convened state environmental health directors and directors of public health preparedness to discuss innovations developed during the COVID-19 pandemic such as virtual inspections. This ASTHOBrief explores how state health ...
ASTHO has been helping jurisdictions prepare for and respond to the needs of people with disabilities during public health emergencies by embedding disability preparedness specialists in 16 state and 2 territorial health agencies.
On Dec. 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ASTHO is commemorating nearly 12 months of supporting disability and preparedness specialists in state and territorial health agencies. Throughout 2021, ASTHO embedded 20 full-time ...
When Beatriz Vallejo, the disability and preparedness specialist in Puerto Rico, first joined the health agency, she took on planning a novel program to share knowledge and clarify each sectors’ roles and responsibilities during an ...
The Embedded specialist in South Carolina used an ASTHO tool to assist the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control improve inclusivity of people living with disabilities in their public health programs.
The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to speed up developing Delaware’s Functional Assessment Service Team and to test it at scale.
The disparities experienced during the COVID pandemic have brought a national focus to health equity in our nation. The attention and resources currently being provided to help address health inequities provide an opportunity that I have ...
Over the past twenty years, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and natural disasters have increased and, by most accounts, this trend will continue. Certain disabilities and activity limitations make it more difficult to ...
Susan Tharpe, the ASTHO disability and preparedness specialist placed in the Georgia Department of Public Health, discusses the importance of partnering with the Autism community on emergency preparedness.
As public health officials lead the pandemic response, clear direction-setting in every state and territories is vital to assure our planning and implementation is fair and focused on those most at need. These are not entirely ...
Health providers have widely used telehealth to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 infection and to improve access to healthcare services thanks in large part to policy changes and regulations. This brief explores how state and territorial ...