CSTE 2025 in Grand Rapids, MI, brought together representatives from state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) jurisdictions, federal agencies, and various public health partners for impactful discussions and collaboration.
Dr. Michael Osterholm’s keynote presentation concluded with a moving reading of the lyrics to “The Mary Ellen Carter,” a song that tells the story of determined efforts to salvage the ship Mary Ellen Carter, with the hope that it would rise again the next day.
“We’ve patched her rents, stopped her vents,
Dogged hatch and porthole down,
Put cables to her fore and aft
And girded her around.
Tomorrow noon, we’ll hit the air
And then take up the strain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.”
The song closes with an inspirational message for anyone “to whom adversity has dealt the final blow”: Never give up, and, like Mary Ellen Carter, rise again! This powerful moment set an uplifting and resilient tone for the entire event, reminding everyone of the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity.
The keynote set a dynamic tone that echoed throughout the conference. Despite the current challenges facing public health, the atmosphere among presenters, attendees, and in every conversation was filled with determination and resilience. The HLN team spent most of our time in the exhibit hall, where we engaged in inspiring discussions and collaborated on creative problem-solving. It’s truly remarkable what can be achieved when people come together in person to tackle shared challenges, and we enjoyed some fun, memorable moments brainstorming with fellow exhibitors and forging new connections. These experiences reinforced the value of in-person collaboration and the collective passion driving public health forward.
HLN was honored to kick off the conference alongside the Minnesota Department of Health with an early morning presentation on expanding electronic case reporting (eCR) beyond infectious diseases. We were delighted by the strong turnout and the thoughtful participation from attendees. Later in the week, we shared insights from HLN’s recent collaboration with ASTHO, highlighting key success factors and strategies to overcome barriers in data modernization. For those who couldn’t attend, we’ve included links to our presentations and the ASTHO report below.
HLN is already looking forward to CSTE 2026 in Boston. Until then, we’ll leave you with a few takeaways from our staff:
“Knowledge and resource sharing across public health organizations is imperative to the success of electronic case reporting. Data modernization becomes much more feasible when teams work together across organizational and geographical boundaries. Not only does collaboration make large scale DM more feasible, but it also fosters innovation across the board.”
“A clear commitment to advancing data modernization efforts was evident throughout the conference sessions and discussions. Key areas of implementation highlighted during the conference included electronic case reporting (eCR), leveraging FHIR for enhanced data interoperability, and the creation of integration tools designed to streamline data ingestion and management processes. These efforts underscore the public health community’s determination to enhance data infrastructure and capabilities, even in a challenging fiscal environment.”
“It’s energizing to learn from such a diverse group of people who, despite facing an abundance of challenges from various forces, all share an unmistakable passion for knowledge-sharing and the advancement of public health.”
“Collaboration stood out as an unofficial theme of this year’s conference. Representatives from state and local Public Health Agencies were eager to share and learn from each other, especially focusing on ‘doing more with less’ as they face reductions in funding and workforce. It was heartening to see such commitment to both data modernization and strengthening the public health informatics community.”
References:
- Bringing everyone together – a key component of successful data modernization
- The Key to Data Modernization? Getting Your Agency on the Same Page
- Poster: Informatics Workforce Assessment at the Minnesota Department of Health To Meet Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) Needs
