When I look back at the past year with the perspective that only passing time brings, 2023 will stand out as a year filled with personal loss and collective professional triumphs. With the support of our PHII staff and leadership team, I cared for one of my close family members during a prolonged illness. The lessons I’ve discovered from caregiving–followed by the loss of my loved one–prompted me to begin this year-end address with my well wishes for you for the new year.

I encourage you to embrace life. Live it to the fullest; don’t wait! Make sure to take time out for yourself to enjoy experiences. Tell people that you love them, often.

Focusing on work helped me as I dealt with the challenges and joys of caregiving. In uncertain times, I needed the focus and purpose that work brought me. Allow me to share how PHII moved into new and exciting work areas in 2023 but also built on successes with long-standing projects.

We continued our support for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI). This marks our third year of coordinating a workshop for DMI directors and their teams and facilitating an online learning community. We also collected innovative data modernization stories from Minnesota, Ohio, Alaska, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to provide inspiration and actionable tools for others.

I’m proud of the ongoing support PHII provides for the immunization information system (IIS) community. We convened a workgroup to develop the new set of Functional Standards, CDC-issued guidelines for effective IIS. We also redoubled our efforts to support the IIS workforce through an in-person annual leadership training and eLearning courses. 

PHII partnered with three Task Force programs and The Global Fund to strengthen disease early warning surveillance systems in several African and Asian countries. The Global Fund helps fight infectious diseases and strengthen health systems in more than 100 countries. We’re collaborating with Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), The Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives (PIVI) and the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program (CoVIP). PHII’s efforts focus on ministries and departments of health in the Philippines, Ghana and Nigeria.

This fall, PHII’s offices moved to our new space in the 330 West Ponce Building to reunite with our Task Force colleagues. We hope being together in the same spaces will inspire even more cross-program cooperation.

As I look back over all that PHII accomplished this year, I’m thankful for all of you who have helped us strengthen public health informatics capacity around the world. I’m inspired and can’t wait to see what the new year brings. All of us at PHII wish you a healthy and peaceful new year!