Get to Know Lorne Carroll

In 2009, Bloomberg Fellow Lorne Carroll began living and working as a public health nurse in Nome, Alaska–population, 3,500. The town is 600 miles off the road system and the majority of community members use planes, boats, and all-terrain vehicles to travel. In his role as a public health nurse, Carroll works closely with 15 Alaska Native villages throughout Norton Sound and the Bering Strait. 

His experiences working within Native communities have underscored the vital importance of tailoring public health solutions to meet the specific needs of unique communities. “These experiences and community members have taught me about healthcare systems, the beauty of connecting to the land around us, and the value of connecting to each other,” Carroll says. 

Seeking further connection to practitioners and experts in public health from across the country, Carroll decided to pursue his MPH degree through the Bloomberg American Health Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2020. Through his fellowship, Carroll had the opportunity to connect with public health practitioners from across the country and gained insights into the impact clear, community-focused, public health communication can have on health outcomes.

On a routine basis, Carroll uses his skills learned during the fellowship program to conduct comprehensive health needs assessments. These assessments identify critical issues such as limited access to healthcare, the need for cultural competency training, and the threat of infectious diseases in Native communities. Carroll then helps to develop culturally sensitive data-driven public health interventions that address these challenges head-on.

Carroll also has the opportunity to travel to Alaska Native villages in the southern coastal regions, around Kachemak Bay, and works alongside Native communities on public health projects such as emergency response planning, infectious disease management, tuberculosis control, and improving access to healthcare. 

Carroll recently concluded a three-year tenure on the Executive Board of the Alaska Public Health Association, an organization dedicated to advocating for health solutions, where he honed his leadership skills and fostered meaningful relationships with community leaders. 

After two decades of work in the public health field one thing has remained consistent for Carroll, “what draws me to public health is the same as it was when I first started: protecting the wellness of every individual pays dividends for the entire population at large.”