Public Health On Call

Latest Episodes:

590 - Fatbergs Can Dance!? Behind The Scenes Of A Public Health Water Ballet Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Fatbergs are a menace to public health in our cities, and a potent symbol of neglect of our urban water systems. They're also disgusting to look at. Yet thanks to a glamorous troupe of synchronized swimmers, Fluid Movement Baltimore made them glamorous in the name of public health. Find out how as we go behind-the-scenes of a special video project that reminds us we all have a role to play in keeping our sewers healthy.

589 - World Water Day: Fatbergs — The Public Health Menace Beneath Our Feet Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Fatbergs are 'the bane of utilities' existence'—they exist because many cities take for granted an essential but largely hidden public health tool: urban sewers. In this episode, Natalie Exum, Assistant Scientist in the department of Environmental Health and Engineering, and Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Alice Volpitta of Blue Water Baltimore, a nonprofit that serves as a watchdog for the city's water systems, about the immovable clogs that threaten public health in cities across the globe—and what we do about it.

588 - Public Health and Food Assistance Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Jerold Mande, CEO of Nourish science and an adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, speaks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about an article he co-authored calling for more attention to health in the nation's largest food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. They also discuss SNAP's benefits in reducing food insecurity, and how potential changes could help reduce diet-related disease as well.

587 - Entrepreneurship and Public Health Mar 17, 2023

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Dr. Rebekah Gee, formerly the successful Commissioner of Health for Louisiana, is now the founder of the startup company Nest Health. She speaks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about why she chose a for-profit venture, how her current role compares and contrasts with the public sector, and the advice she would give to someone looking to make an impact in public health. You can read more about Dr. Gee's company at nesthealth.com.

BONUS - Reducing Infant Mortality in West Baltimore Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

The B'more for Healthy Babies program in Promise Heights is a remarkable program in West Baltimore that has reduced infant mortality and improved other health outcomes for more than a decade. Stacey Stephens, the social worker who directs this effort for the University of Maryland School of Social Work, speaks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this effort. Joining them is Gisele Joseph, a community health worker and certified lactation consultant in the program. The secret to their success? It's not an app. It's not a quick fix. It's years of grassroots organizing and outreach. To learn more visit the program's website, which has opportunities to contribute.

586 - Masks and COVID Again? Yes, Masks and COVID...again Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Johns Hopkins Professor and infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. David Dowdy returns to the podcast to talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about some of the latest studies on the effectiveness of masks in protecting people from COVID

585 - Hidden in Plain Sight Part 3: Stories About the Powerful—and Often Invisible—Public Health Forces That Shape Our Lives Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

The Stoop Storytelling Series and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health partnered last fall to present a night of storytelling by scientists, activists, and community members sharing personal stories about urgent public health issues. In part 3, Ashley Esposito, a "litter picker" with Bmore Trashpickers, talks about the story that trash can tell about the health of a community, and Dr. Stephen Thomas, director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park and founder of the Barbershop Project talks about the power of barbershops as places of health education. These stories were recorded on September 22, 2022 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

584 - A New Type of Overdose Response Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Gerard Carroll is the Division head of EMS and Disaster Medicine and an emergency room physician at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, New Jersey. He joins Dr. Josh Sharfstein to talk about a pilot program that allows emergency responders to give the treatment buprenorphine after the reversal medication naloxone—right at the scene of an overdose. Dr. Carroll is the co-author of a new paper about his hospital's experience, as well as its impressive results.

Learn more: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36192278/

583 - Are Self-driving Cars Safe? Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Johnathon Ehsani is an expert in traffic safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He speaks with Dr. Sharfstein about the safety of autonomous vehicles today and what might be possible in the future. He also shares what he thinks of the potential benefits of this technology.

582 - Hidden in Plain Sight Part 2: Stories About the Powerful—and Often Invisible—Public Health Forces That Shape Our Lives Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

The Stoop Storytelling Series and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health partnered last fall to present a night of storytelling by scientists, activists, and community members sharing personal stories about urgent public health issues. In part 2, we hear from Cleo Hirsch, the executive director of COVID Response at Baltimore City Public Schools about creating "learning pods" for some of the most vulnerable kids in the city, and Tyde-Courtney Edwards, founding director of Ballet After Dark on surviving trauma through dance. These stories were recorded on September 22, 2022 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

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