Public Health News

Addiction & Overdose

Get to Know Shaivi Herur

Bloomberg Fellow Shaivi Herur, alongside her team at JSI Research & Training Institute, is working to reduce stigma around drug use and improve the quality of care for addiction treatment across Massachusetts.

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Food Systems for Health

Addressing Food Insecurity through Community Schools in California

Full-service community schools are public schools that serve as hubs for their neighborhoods, going far beyond academics to connect students and families with healthcare, mental health care, social services, and family engagement—all in one place. These schools differ from typical public and charter schools by actively integrating with community organizations and resources to address a broader range of student needs.

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General

Bloomberg American Health Initiative Awards 14 Network of Practice Grants

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has recently awarded more than $400,000 in support to 14 organizations in the Initiative’s network working to address pressing public health issues across the country. These grants, also known as Network of Practice Grants, will support innovative projects that improve the health and well-being of communities across the United States.  

press releases

Food Systems for Health

Get to Know Bailey Ward

Nearly 40% of all food in the United States goes unsold or uneaten, amounting to 92 billion pounds of waste each year. That’s 145 billion meals discarded annually, even as more and more people struggle with food insecurity.

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Violence

Get to Know Alejandra Casarrubias

After fleeing violence in her native Mexico City, Bloomberg Fellow Alejandra Casarrubias moved to the U.S. and made it her life’s work to help others. She earned her nursing degree and went on to practice in a rehabilitation hospital, an urgent care clinic, and an emergency department.

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Addiction & Overdose

Get to Know Aron Thiim

In 2023, Massachusetts recorded 2,125 confirmed opioid-related overdose deaths. Bloomberg Fellow Aron Thiim and his team at the Justice Resource Institute’s (JRI) Health Division are on the front lines of this epidemic.

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General

4 Things You Didn't Know Were Public Health Innovations

Public health innovations are all around us - from seatbelts, to water filtration systems, to the 911 line - public health innovations are helping to improve life expectancy in the United States every day. Below, we highlight just a few unlikely public health innovations highlighted by Bloomberg American Health Initiative faculty members:

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Addiction & Overdose

The Role of Drug Checking in Reducing Overdoses and Saving Lives

Between November 2021 and August 2022, the National Institute of Standards and Technology tested nearly 500 deidentified drug paraphernalia samples collected from eight syringe services programs across Maryland. For almost half of these samples, participants also completed a questionnaire about the substances they had intended to purchase.

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Food Systems for Health

Using AI to Track Food Insecurity in South Carolina

In 2024 over 650,000 people in South Carolina experienced food insecurity. To help address this crisis, Openfields, a social innovation consulting firm, launched the South Carolina Food Insecurity Media Tracker, an AI-powered tool designed to bring real-time insights to food security advocates.

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Addiction & Overdose

Get to know Sam Elliott

Bloomberg Fellow Sam Elliott’s journey into substance use and overdose prevention care began long before her professional career. Growing up in a family where substance use was prevalent, she saw the impact of these issues firsthand. Those early experiences and her work as a paramedic shaped her commitment to harm reduction and public health.

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Current Public Health News from the Initiative

Bloomberg American Health Initiative Awards 14 Network of Practice Grants to Advance Public Health

Addressing Food Insecurity through Community Schools in California

Get to Know Shaivi Herur