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Getting Back to Our Roots: The Rise of Local Health Depts in the US
Shawn Eastridge

In 1911, Yakima, Washington suffered one of the worst typhoid epidemics in our nation’s history. The resulting national investigation and community call to action led to the development of the essential elements of modern local public health.

I encourage you to read the story of the Yakima typhoid epidemic and its impact on the evolution of local public health departments, paying close attention to the parallels of public health’s role and the similar public sentiments that we see today.

Some similarities of note:

  • Community opposition to expanded government authority in accomplishing public health solutions to population health threats
  • The challenges of determining the source of an outbreak
  • The impact infectious diseases can have on local economies, particularly rural and agricultural towns and cities
  • The value of community health education to advance public health initiatives
Reflecting on 2025: the great reset in public health
PHII Director Vivian Singletary shares her reflections on the past year and looks forward to what 2026 holds.
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Using generative AI to automate pediatric audiology diagnoses
Our audiology team shares about a system built to leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the classification of pediatric audiology reports.
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The importance of governance in data modernization
Senior informatics analyst Sarah Shaw reflects on last year's Data Modernization Boot Camp and how it spawned their online Data Governance course.
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Reflections on 2024 and looking forward to the new year
PHII Director Vivian Singletary celebrates our 2024 public health wins and gets ready for the opportunities and challenges in the new year.
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How Fairfax County’s health department tackled data modernization challenges
In this video, Fairfax County Health Department shared how they’ve tackled various data modernization challenges.
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Communication plays a key role in successful data modernization planning
Shawn Eastridge provides examples of public health jurisdictions emphasizing how communication is key to a successful data modernization plan.
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A use case in IIS considerations for DMI, from Michigan
The Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) team offers an example of considerations immunization information system (IIS) teams may have when working to align with data modernization goals.
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Task Force at 40: How our work and culture continue to shape each other
Task Force employees celebrated The Task Force's 40th anniversary on March 14, 2024.
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Tonya Duhart Miller, Associate Director of Business Operations at PHII, celebrates International Women’s Month
As March marks Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8), Task Force women in leadership reflect on their leadership philosophy, who inspires them, and what keeps them motivated to work in public health.
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Stories chronicle success in improving child and adolescent mental health
Lina Saintus highlights successful ways public health organizations have used data to measure and improve child and adolescent mental health (CAMH).
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