ASSOCIATION OF STATE AND TERRITORIAL

Health security:astho's health security unit (hsu) focuses on health emergencies caused by natural disasters, outbreaks and pandemics, deliberate attacks, and environmental catastrophes. The unit is comprised of 4 separate but integrated teams: emerging infectious disease team, preparedness team, infectious disease policy and infrastructure team, and the environmental health team. The hsu mission is to support and proactively empower health agencies to address health security challenges through evidence-based resources, knowledge, partnerships, and innovation. Continued on schedule o.hsu is actively engaged in all aspects of emergency response, in conjunction with the executive office, providing leadership and sme input for all responses ranging in size from annual wildfire and hurricane response to larger national outbreaks such as ebola, mpox, and covid-19. The hsu had over 35 active projects funded through cdc in the last year totaling over $12 million. In addition to cdc, our other federal funders include fda, epa, and aspr. The hsu is funded to provide peer to peer support to our members by supporting 3 policy committees (environmental health, infectious disease, and preparedness) and several peer groups such as the state environmental health directors, the directors of public health preparedness, the medical countermeasure coordinators, and the state tribal health liaisons. These groups serve as a forum and space to allow for members to provide: feedback on pre-decisional federal guidance and grants share best/promising practices problem solving development of astho policy statements feedback for federal policy such as the reauthorization of the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act (pahpa) and national health security strategy.hsu also manages several other leadership councils or associations of associations that have come together to provide guidance and the best public health thought around a topic or issue. These groups include: the council for outbreak response: healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial pathogens (corha). Corha consists of 9 partner organizations/federal agencies all aligned to improve practices and policies at the local, state, and national levels for detection, investigation, control, and prevention of hai/ar outbreaks across the healthcare continuum, including emerging infections and other risks with potential for healthcare transmission. The national alliance for radiation readiness (narr). The narr is a coalition of public health, healthcare, and emergency management organizations that serve as the collective "voice of health" in radiological preparedness. Hsu staff also provide support to our members by representing astho and staffing members on the following national boards and committees: the national homeland security consortium cdc's board of scientific counselors national academies of sciences med prep forum healthcare infection control practices advisory committee advisory council for the elimination on tb astho/nema/governor's homeland security advisors council national association leadership council national council for environmental health & equity leadership hsu manages two projects that provide direct staff support to public health agencies. We are in the final stages of our disability and preparedness specialists project in which astho placed specialists in 18 jurisdictions to work to close the inclusivity gaps for people living with disabilities during emergency preparedness and response efforts, including those for covid-19. More recently we are managing a project which provides state environmental health staff support in 14 jurisdictions.the hsu also manages several immunization-related projects including the partnering for vaccine equity grant which allows astho to partner with the national community action partnership to support 5 community action teams to provide targeted education and address barriers to accessing covid-19 and other adult vaccines in an effort to improve health equity. This partnership has led to the development of several evidence-based and evidence-informed practices along with blogs, briefs, and podcasts. Additionally, we have provided support to 2 virtual policy academies for state and territorial leaders that will help them improved their capacity to identify, develop, and implement policies to address vaccine hesitancy. Hsu is developing an interactive and collaborative platform to facilitate jurisdictional sharing of success stories, new methods and innovative solutions for public health preparedness and communicable disease outbreaks. This new platform, inspire: readiness, will share stories in 4 specific areas:- data systems and management- workforce- equity - training and resources hsu has also developed several technical packages which present evidence-based strategies to inform s/tha activities to increase nationwide immunization, to mitigate the climate-related impacts on health, and to reduce congenital syphilis (all submitted in the journal of public health management and practice).