The Network Blog

A year ago we wrote about the alarming increase in drug overdose, which is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death nationwide. This increase, which is mostly driven by prescription opioids such as oxycontin and hydrocodone, is particularly troubling because opioid overdose is typically reversible.

I’ve always been passionate about preventing secondhand smoke exposure, especially in young children. Most states now ban smoking in workplaces and bars, and legal challenges to these laws typically fail because there’s no constitutional right to smoke.

In collaboration with the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University, the Western Region is pleased to be part of the 35th Annual National Health Law Professors Conference from June 7-9, 2012 in Tempe, Arizona. 

The New York Times recently described the issue of antibiotic overuse in animals and drug resistance as “one of the leading public health concerns worldwide.” The issue has been debated since 1977, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued notices declaring its intent to withdraw approval of the use of certain antibiotics intended to promote animal growth and feed efficiency.

Over the last several months I’ve had the opportunity to speak with local public health officials and attorneys about the challenges in providing legal counsel to local health departments. 

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an unprecedented move toward expanding access to health insurance coverage and critical health services for women. This is especially true for low-income women living with HIV.  

In the field of injury prevention, we’ve learned a great deal about how to reduce injury risks and prevent harm.  But more work is needed to implement different techniques for translating those research findings into effective, real-world policies and programs. 

I recently completed my seventh year as a legislative analyst for the Senate Public Affairs Committee of the New Mexico Legislature. This experience followed my twenty-three year career as an attorney for the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) where, among other duties, I was actively involved in drafting public health legislation and testifying for those bills on behalf of NMDOH.

This is round three of Andrew Speaker’s lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Speaker, who got worldwide attention in 2007 after flying overseas while knowing he had tuberculosis, sued the CDC in Federal District Court for violating the federal Privacy Act by disclosing his identity and confidential medical information relating to the treatment of his tuberculosis.

Many state departments of health and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend meningococcal vaccinations for all adolescents, yet there are gaps in U.S. vaccination laws. Many states still do not have laws requiring meningitis vaccinations that could prevent an outbreak. Such an outbreak, like the one in Colorado in 2010, can have a huge impact on a community. It spreads among those who live or work in close proximity to others, such as college students in a dorm or school children.