FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 Connecticut Department of Public Health

September 15, 2014                                                                 Contact: William Gerrish

                                                                                                  (860) 509-7270

Hartford – The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced that DPH Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen was elected president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) during the association's annual meeting last week.

ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the 50 states, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in state-based public health practice.

“In fewer than four years, Dr. Mullen has strengthened Connecticut’s public health system by building effective, coordinated chronic disease prevention programs, improving collaboration between the public health and health care systems, and developing meaningful community partnerships that chart a course for a healthier Connecticut,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “As president of ASTHO, Dr. Mullen brings vision, leadership and passion to an organization dedicated to improving the health and wellness of all citizens.”

Appointed by Governor Malloy in 2010, Dr. Mullen’s priorities at the Department of Public Health include chronic disease and injury prevention, health care quality and safety, health equity, and support of local efforts to create healthy communities. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appointed Dr. Mullen to its advisory committee on health disparities, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary appointed her to chair the CDC Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection and Control Federal Advisory Committee.

ASTHO’s 2015 President’s Challenge is to promote the health of older adults by collaborating across sectors. This challenge aims to galvanize support for state health officials, their public health teams, state and local experts in aging and a broad network of partners, to implement evidence-based strategies for increasing the number of older adults who are living well in communities across the country.

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