Every year each of the folks in my job around the country (called the State Health Officers) get together and elect a President of our association (called the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials or ASTHO). Each President picks a public health challenge during his or her term. This year’s ASTHO President is Dr. David Lakey, and he’s selected the Healthy Babies Project- challenging each state to implement strategies based on successful national, regional, and state efforts to improve the health status of babies across the country. We’ll be working alongside our partner states over the coming months to help carry some water. More in upcoming updates.