SPH Students Makes a Difference at Maryland General Assembly

On a visit to the Maryland General Assembly in March, we had the chance to catch up with Monica Machado, a UMD SPH graduate student working on completing her Masters in Health Administration this spring. She shared with us some of her experiences as an intern for Delegate Hubbard and how they relate to public health.

How did you end up interning with Delegate Hubbard?

I first met Delegate Hubbard and learned about his relationship with the School of Public Health and the University of Maryland on a field trip to the Maryland State Assembly in my Health Policy and Politics course in Spring 2010. On the field trip, we learned about his bills on BPA in baby bottles and chemicals in detergents. He emphasized that he thought very highly of UMD SPH and that in the past he had had interns from the school. He encouraged the students in my class to apply for an internship the next year and to encourage fellow students as well. Since then, I have had my eye set on getting the internship. Wes Queen in SPH knew about my intentions, so in the fall of 2010 when Delegate Hubbard’s office was looking for students to help organize student volunteers for the primary campaign, Wes asked if I was interested. I took the opportunity and I got PHEAR (Public Health Engaging and Representing) involved. I organized five students to help at the polls. Delegate Hubbard won the primary and then I volunteered at the polls for the general elections. After he won the general election, I contacted his office and applied for the internship. Delegate Hubbard has a good relationship with many of the faculty and staff in my Department. I was well recommended and soon started on the paperwork to make me official! I started my Capstone Experience/Project during the first week of the legislative session in January 2011.

My time interning with Delegate Hubbard is my Capstone Experience and it is structured similarly to an internship. My Capstone Project is on how to effectively advance state-level health policy and the role of academia and research on health policy. I am working on a specific bill, which will serve as a case study for my larger project.

What do you like most about it?

I really like the excitement about all of the bills being discussed and having up to the minute details about the progress of some of the more controversial bills (gay marriage was the biggest one). I really like the pace here. The beginning of session was sort of slow because there weren’t too many bills introduced because it was an election year.

What are your major responsibilities?

My main responsibility is researching, coordinating, and providing testimony on one bill. This includes finding out what other states have done on the issue, looking at federal recommendations, finding the legislative history, talking to advocacy groups, helping to draft amendments, preparing testimony, and delivering testimony to a committee. 

After that, I provide support for the many other bills that Delegate Hubbard sponsors. This includes making copies of testimony, getting amendments, drafting letters, and talking with constituents, lobbyists, and advocates.

Which bill are you supporting and why?

The bill I am working on is HB1150: Trauma-Informed Care. I chose to work on this bill because I am interested in patient safety and because it was grounded in research. This bill calls for improved patient safety in state mental health facilities, including training and separating male and female bedrooms. This bill was originally written by the Maryland Disability Law Center, which is the designated Protection and Advocacy agency for the State of Maryland, mandated to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities. They approached Delegate Hubbard to ask him to be the sponsor for the bill and after reviewing it, he agreed.

How is the bill progressing?

The House bill has been cross-filed (the same language as the House bill) in the Senate (SB 556), and was discussed by Senate committees earlier in the session than the House bill was. I provided my testimony to the Health and Government Operations Committee on March 17^th. In the Senate, the committee members, the MDLC, and the Mental Hygiene Administration (they must implement the bill) have come up with amendments that all parties can live with, and the bill is going to be voted out of committee soon.  In the House, the bill has not yet been assigned to a sub-committee, but we have already drafted amendments to match what happened in the Senate. The next steps are to discuss the House bill in a committee hearing and approve the amendments. After that it will be voted out of committee, voted on the floor, and then sent to the Senate to make the second to last approval. After that, it goes to the Governor to sign.

At the current point in the process, there have been some compromises on the bill, and it looks like the bill will pass!

MIAEH Student Appointed to Maryland Commission for Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities

Gov. Martin O’Malley named Rebecca Rehr, a Master’s student in the SPH’s Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, to the Maryland Commission for Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities in January.

Rehr was appointed as a member of the general public with a special interest or expertise in environmental justice, and she is working alongside health experts, environmental organizations, government officials and business organization leaders on the commission.

The commission is tasked with making sure that all state policies and laws are in accordance with the definition of environmental justice.

“I always say environmental justice is ensuring that no minority or low income community is disproportionally affected by environmental hazards,” she said.

This could include issues like living next to a toxic waste facility and not having the means to move somewhere else or not having access to healthy or fairly priced food, she said.

The commission advises State agencies on issues related to environmental justice and sustainable communities and makes recommendations on those issues.

Rehr first began working with the commission as an intern with the Maryland Department of the Environment in the office of the secretary.

As an intern, Rehr worked closely with the commission on a bill that expanded the commission to 20 members, and she was present in January when Gov. O’Malley signed the bill.

“It’s cool to have this opportunity to really apply some of the stuff I learned in undergrad in a textbook on environmental justice,” she said.

Rehr said one current goal of the commission is to look at counties that may have been overlooked in the past, like those along the state’s eastern shore.

“We are trying to expand our scope,” she said.

Rehr is originally from Baltimore City, and she is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences. She works as a graduate assistant in the College of Undergraduate Studies as a front desk advisor.

Rehr said she hopes to pursue a career in environmental justice, and she is honored to have the opportunity to work alongside the other members of the commission.

“I am always inspired by the people on the commission and their passion for justice and promoting sustainability, especially within communities that are normally underserved,” she said.

(Top Left) Commission Chair Scot Spencer, Rebecca Rehr, and MDE staffers Lisa Nissley and Jeffrey Fretwell; (Bottom left) Lt. Gov Anthony Brown, Senate President Thomas "Mike" Miller, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Speaker of the House Michael Busch at the Commission for Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities legislation signing.

SPH Staff Joins State and National Officials to Focus on Oral Health

Alice M. Horowitz, a research associate professor at the SPH, and Dushanka Kleinman, the associate dean for research and academic affairs at the SPH, attended a press conference hosted by the Maryland Dental Action Coalition on Monday, February 7 honoring Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old boy who died four years ago when an untreated tooth infection spread to his brain.

The event highlighted Maryland’s initiatives to improve oral health care for its most vulnerable residents.

This goal is mirrored by Alice Horowitz’s research, entitled the Maryland Oral Health Literacy Model to Prevent Childhood Dental Caries (Tooth Decay). Horowitz has directed an extensive assessment of the communication skills and their understanding and practices related to tooth decay prevention in young children of physicians (pediatricians, family practitioners), nurse practitioners, dentists (pediatric dentists, general practitioners), and dental hygienists. Maryland adults who have young children in their homes were surveyed as well. The findings will be used to create interventions and messages that support better oral health for children and adults alike.

The press conference took place at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene headquarters in Washington, DC, and Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Maryland Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin and Congressman John Sarbanes attended as well. Maryland is the first state to hold a gathering of Senate and Congressional leaders to focus on oral health care in our state and nationally.

The SPH has taken an active role in pursuing and supporting improved oral health care in Maryland. The SPH is a member of the Maryland Dental Action Coalition and a partner in their upcoming state summit that will take place in October.

Kleinman, Horowitz and SPH staff member Wesley Queen are on the advisory board for the Deamonte Driver Dental Project. The goal of the project is to identify and treat children in Prince George’s and neighboring counties in Maryland who do not have dental insurance, are under insured or who have not received dental care.

A week prior to the press conference, the state Senate voted not to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the legislators at the event emphasized the important role health care reform will play in Maryland’s communities.

Read more about the Deamonte Driver Project's recent accomplishments in this Washington Post article.

Faculty and Staff Attend Governor's Forum on Children and Health

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown convened hundreds of leaders from across the state in a call to action designed to improve the health of the state's population at a Forum on Children and Health on Monday, Jan. 10. University of Maryland School of Public Health faculty and staff took part in the forum, based around the state's new plans to improve the health of children in Maryland.

The plans call for the reduction and elimination of health disparities through the exploration of financial, performance-based incentives. At the forum, a number of goals for the future of child healthcare in the state were discussed. Some goals have a more long-term reach, like ending child hunger in Maryland by 2015. However, the governor is hoping for more immediate changes by reducing infant mortality in the state by 10 percent by 2012, expanding access to substance abuse services in Maryland by 25 percent by 2012, and establishing best in the nation statewide health information exchange and electronic health records adoption by 2012.

“The University of Maryland School of Public Health is central to the success of this ambitious plan designed to move Maryland forward as a national model for addressing Healthy People 2020 Goals,” said Dean, Robert S. Gold. “We are fortunate to live in a state where our highest elected officials have embraced the challenge and opportunity to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity.”

Above: Wesley Queen, Karoline Mortensen, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, Stephen B. Thomas and Carolyn C. Voorhees at the Governor's Forum on Children and Health on January 10.