Together Our Impact is Greater

About 50 million young people ages 13-15 smoke cigarettes or use smokeless tobacco products, like pouches, water pipes and e-cigarettes. The 2024 World No Tobacco Day, titled “Protecting Children From Tobacco Industry Interference,” aims to raise awareness about tobacco marketing tactics, what’s being done to counteract them and to support and empower young people as they advocate for change.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as the school year winds down, it is important to check in with our kids about their emotional health and well-being and better understand how we can support them both at home and in school.

Public health data can tell many stories, painting a picture of community health by highlighting the number of community members who have high cholesterol or diabetes, the availability of green space and access to local grocery stores. But to tell the right stories, communities must be able to provide input into public health data and develop their own health narrative.

Emergency response work is a lot like labor and delivery: situations rapidly change, and we adapt as best we can to help save lives. My diverse experiences in both clinical and public health settings have helped me develop a broad understanding of the crucial role that public health entities play in keeping parents and babies healthy in the United States.