NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun | May 18, 2013
Dr. Frederick L. Brancati, an internationally known expert on the epidemiology and prevention of type 2 diabetes who was director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, died Tuesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Lutherville home. He was 53. "He was a delightful human being — smart, witty and fun to be around," said Dr. Michael J. Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whom Dr. Brancati succeeded as division chief.
HEALTH
By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun | May 10, 2013
Summer is almost here, and with it likely some blistering hot days. A recent study suggests the elderly should beware when the temperature spikes, because they face an increased risk of winding up in the emergency room short of breath on those days. And that's just a taste of what health problems to expect as global climate change cranks the heat up in many places. Researchers for Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Yale universities reviewed a nationwide health database of 12.5 million older Americans on Medicare and found that increases in outdoor temperatures raise the risk for the elderly of being rushed to the hospital with respiratory disorders.
HEALTH
By Andrea K. Walker and By Andrea K. Walker | April 17, 2013
The dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is among a group of leading scientists that has joined an initiative to eradicate polio. Dr. Michael J. Klag signed a declaration last week endorsing a Polio Eradication Endgame Strategic Plan. It calls for creating a polio-free world by 2018. The initiative is led by Emory University and Aga Khan University. Officials say there is an opportunity to end polio because there are so few cases being reported. More than 400 other scientists from 80 countries signed the declaration, which calls for sustaining containment of the disease once it is eradicated.
NEWS
Dan Rodricks | April 15, 2013
The publication of Alfred Sommer's new memoir, "10 Lessons in Public Health," comes precisely 30 years after the publication of the most important thing he's ever written: "Increased mortality in children with mild vitamin A deficiency," a report of a medical discovery that has saved an estimated 10 million children from blindness and death. This is one of the classic stories from the realm of epidemiology, the stuff of medical detectives, and for it we slip back to the winter holidays of 1982 in Baltimore: Sommer, an ophthalmologist and professor at the (pre-Bloomberg)
NEWS
By Georges Benjamin | April 10, 2013
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate will hold a confirmation hearing on Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Over her decades of public service, Ms. McCarthy has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting public health with pragmatic solutions to our pollution challenges. In short, she has proved that she is a true public health champion. While Ms. McCarthy's most high-profile accomplishments came from her work strengthening and modernizing historic clean air standards to ensure that Americans will be able to breathe easier over the long term, she has dedicated her entire career to keeping kids safe from chemicals, ensuring we have clean and safe drinking water, and tackling the environmental health issues that really matter.
NEWS
April 9, 2013
Melissa Healey's article, "NYC's failed cap on sugary drinks prompts soul searching" on April 4 draws an interesting parallel between New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's improbable public health battle against obesity and our nation's long history of public health activism and success stories. Taking on the "larger forces" through policy - whether the tobacco and alcohol industries or "Big Food" - is a winning model in public health. The impact of taking on corporate interests is best appreciated in individual behavioral change.