News from the School of Public Health

Caitlin Waite, who is a program administrative specialist in the SPH Dean’s Office, recently moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She and her fiancée Corbin, who has lived in the area his whole life, had the opportunity to explore a piece of little-known American history of African Americans at Blue Mountain. 

On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, this year’s Giving Day saw 296 donors—alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends—come together to raise a total of $218,663 for the UMD School of Public Health! 

A new article by Dr. Jennifer Roberts and fellows with the Harvard JPB Fellowship begins with a painful reminder: “‘I can’t breathe’ were the last words spoken by Eric Garner (July 17, 2014), Javier Ambler (March 28, 2019), Elijah McClain (August 30, 2019), Manuel Ellis (March 3, 2020), and George Floyd (May 25, 2020).” All were Black men killed by the police. 

Deaths caused by drug overdoses in the United States topped 100,000 last year, and are increasing at a rate of 30% year over year. According to CDC data, we lose 136 people each day to overdoses. Cyndi Kershaw wants to speak out about her son’s recent tragic death from an overdose to raise awareness of the need for more and better strategies to help people with addiction.

Tracking down reliable health care information and resources can be overwhelming. Proposed Maryland legislation aims to combat that by designating the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy as the state's Consumer Health Information Hub. 

On February 24, Russian forces launched an invasion of Ukraine and started a war. 

War is a man-made disaster that affects the physical and mental wellbeing across all borders. War destroys health infrastructure, health advancement and the capacity for health systems to respond to health consequences of violence and its rippling effects.