July 2014—Public Health Law News

Health system transformation webinars. CDC’s Public Health Law Program (PHLP) and the American Health Lawyers Association are co-hosting a three-part series of webinar roundtable discussions that will provide lawyers, in-house counsel, and academics an overview of health system transformation. The series will discuss PHLP’s research on law and policy related to health system transformation, accountable care organizations, and hospital presumptive eligibility for Medicaid. PHLP reserved 200 free registration spaces. Please register as soon as possible to ensure free registration. The first webinar will take place Monday, July 21, 2014, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm (EDT). 

CDC Public Health Law Program externship. This externship consists of 9–14 weeks of professional work experience, for academic credit, with CDC’s Public Health Law Program in Atlanta, Georgia. The program features rolling start and completion dates throughout the academic year. It exposes law students to the public health field, allowing for exploration of the critical role law plays in advancing public health goals. The unpaid externship is open to second and third year law students who are interested in exploring careers in public health law. Participants must receive academic credit. Spring 2015 applications must be submitted by November 1, 2014.

Public comment period extended for FDA e-cigarette regulation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended the comment opportunity on the proposed Deeming Regulation until August 8, 2014. The proposed regulation would allow the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes, cigars, "little cigars," dissolvable products, and hookahs. 

Tobacco Control edition devoted to e-cigarettes. Tobacco Control has released an entire journal edition devoted to electronic nicotine delivery systems. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS): new evidence from the State and Community Tobacco Control Research Initiative. Tobacco Control 2014;23 Suppl. 3.

2014 Public Health Law Conference. The 2014 Public Health Law Conference will take place October 16–17, 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will gather public health and legal experts from across the country to examine and discuss today’s critical challenges in public health law. An early bird registration rate is available.

2014 APHA Meeting. The American Public Health Association’s (APHA) 142nd Annual Meeting, themed “Healthography: How Where You Live Affects Your Health and Well-Being,” will take place in New Orleans, November 15–19, 2014, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Register by August 28, 2014, for the early registration discount. Advanced registration deadline is October 3, 2014. Registration fees increase after October 3.

Assessment of Radiological incidents response laws. The Public Health Law Program announces the publication of Public Health Preparedness: Examination of Legal Language Authorizing Responses to Radiological Incidents [PDF 669KB], an assessment of state and local laws that authorize restriction of movement and decontamination of people during a radiological event. The assessment is a the result of a partnership between CDC’s Public Health Law Program, CDC’s National Center Environmental Health, Radiation Studies Branch, and the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Accountable Care resources.  Public Health Law Program announces the publication of three accountable care resources: Accountable Care: Basic Principles and Related Law, describing accountable care frameworks and the legal provisions that support them, an Accountable Care Presentation, and a Research Anthology for Accountable Care. These resources can help practitioners understand how accountable care might impact public health and engage with accountable care entities in their jurisdictions.

Network for Public Health Law Takings Clause issue brief. The Network for public health law has released Issue Brief: Takings Clause and Local Public Health Agencies, which provides a basic introduction to the Takings Clause and how it can affect local public health agencies and the ability of local government to promote public health in their communities.

Report on bullying, sexual, and dating violence. The National Institute of Justice has released Bullying, Sexual, and Dating Violence Trajectories from Early to Late Adolescence [PDF 1.57MB], a report by Dorthy L. Espelage, Sabina K. Low, Carolyn Anderson, and Lisa De La Ru.

New York: New York’s ban on big sodas is rejected by final court 
New York Times   (06/26/2014)   Michael M. Grynbaum

On June 26, 2014 the New York State Court of Appeals, the highest New York state court, refused to reinstate New York City’s regulation limiting the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. The 4-2 opinion, written by Judge Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., said the New York City Board of Health had “exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority” by enacting the proposal. The Pigott also wrote that the scope and complexity of the proposal should have been under the authority of the City Council, rather than the Board of Health.

The ruling marks a notable victory for the American soft-drink industry, which had fought the plan. One critic of the law, attorney Robert Bookman, said, “Under Mayor Bloomberg, the Board of Health seemed to feel that its power was unlimited. Now they know they are no different than any other administrative agency.”

Columbia University law professor, Richard Briffault, who filed a brief supporting the city, is concerned that the ruling, “casts a cloud over the ability of administrative agencies to engage in innovative forms of regulation.”

The dissent, written by Judge Susan P. Read, argued that the majority opinion ignored precedent that enabled the board to address public health matters, and “misapprehends , mischaracterizes and thereby curtails the powers of the New York City Board of Health to address the public health threats of the early 21st century.”

New York’s current mayor, Bill de Blasio, said he was “extremely disappointed by the ruling” and indicated he would review other options for the city to combat obesity.

[Editor’s note: Read the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in In the Matter of New York Statewide Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [PDF 75KB]. Decided 06/26/2014.]

The Fifty Nifty is back by popular demand! We at the CDC Public Health Law News consider July the perfect month to consider how public health law affects all fifty states of our 237-year-old union. In honor of our national holiday and in celebration of our country, please enjoy a public health law story from every state in the Union!

Alabama: In wake of dog attacks, mother calls for stronger leash laws
Parent of child killed by a pit bull terrorized by a pit bull at son’s grave site
ABC   (07/01/2014)   Sherrie Evans

Alaska: Residents question water quality after company’s dumping without permits
Neighborhood fears fueled by lack of oversight at Mat-Su gravel pit, dump
Anchorage Daily News   (06/29/2014)   Zaz Hollander

Arizona: Adding childless adults to Medicaid cuts uncompensated care by almost a third
Arizona hospitals doing less uncompensated care 
Arizona Daily Star   (07/04/2014)   Stephanie Innes
[Editor’s note: Read Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association’s June 13, 2014, memorandum on uncompensated care percentages.]

Arkansas: Criminal penalties for paying rent one day late, ten-day eviction notice
Arkansas: the worst place to rent in America 
Vice News   (06/25/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Arkansas’s code section on grounds for eviction of residential tenants, Ark. Code Ann. § 18-17-901 (2012).]

California: City of Los Angeles confiscates illegal fireworks
L.A. fireworks crackdown continues with 1-ton bust; seven charged
Los Angeles Times   (07/03/2014)   Joseph Serna, Matt Hansen
[Editor’s note: Read Los Angeles’s code regarding fireworks [PDF 56KB].]

Colorado: New statute of limitations for hit-and-run charge and revenge porn laws
Several new Colorado laws go into effect Tuesday
KDVR.com   (06/30/2014)   Eli Stokols
[Editor’s note: Read Colorado House and Senate Bills enacted in 2014.]

Connecticut: Law gives adoptees access to birth certificates, potentially medical history
New law will allow Connecticut adoptees to get access to birth certificates
The Hartford Courant   (06/20/2014)   Alex Putterman
[Editor’s note: Read Connecticut’s HB 5144.]

Delaware: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act provides safety accommodations
New Delaware law will ensure employers can’t force workers to have unsafe pregnancies 
Think Progress   (07/02/2014)   Bryce Covert
[Editor’s note: Read Delaware’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.]

Florida: New law for violent sexual predators among those taking effect
159 new laws in Florida take effect Tuesday 
My Fox Tampa Bay   (07/01/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Florida’s Protecting Our Children and Adults from Sexual Predators Act.]

Georgia: Slower drivers must merge right for faster traffic
Georgia’s new ‘slow poke’ law now in effect 
WJCL News   (01/07/2014)   Dave Williams
[Editor’s note: Read Georgia’s House Bill 459.]

Hawaii: Fines for cell phone use while driving rise, but court appearance not required
New cell phone law with stiffer fines takes effect 
West Hawaii Today   (07/01/2014)   John Burnett
[Editor’s note: Read Hawaii’s Distracted Driving Law [PDF 105KB].]

Idaho: Speed limit could increase from 75 to 80 mph
New Idaho laws take effect July 1
Magicvalley.com   (06/30/2014)   Kimberlee Kruesi
[Editor’s note: Lear more about the potential speed limit increase and the Idaho Transportation Department’s review of the proposed increase.]

Illinois: New law makes it illegal to require dialing another number to call 9-1-1
Illinois law seeks to make it easier to dial 911 
KMOV   (07/02/2014)

Indiana: Bikers may proceed through red lights if they fail to set off sensor
New Indiana law lets bikers proceed with caution at red lights
News-Sentinel   (07/01/2014)   Jaclyn Goldsborough
[Editor’s note: Read Indiana’s HB 1080.]

Iowa: Pets allowed to be included in domestic protective orders
The new Iowa laws that take effect July 1 
The Des Moines Register   (07/01/2014)   William Petroski
[Editor’s note: Read Iowa’s SB 2118.]

Kansas: Pharmacists may create working relationships with primary physicians
New Kansas law expands medical services pharmacists can provide
Wichita Business Journal   (07/01/2014)   Josh Heck
[Editor’s note: Read Kansas’s HB 2146.]

Kentucky: More fireworks tents since laws changed in 2011
Ky. Fireworks law changes felt in Tennessee 
WBIR.com   (07/04/2014)   Steve Butera

Louisiana: Unwanted adopted children may not be readopted privately
Louisiana governor signs law prohibiting non-legalized re-adoption of children
Jurist   (06/22/2014)   Julie Deisher
[Editor’s note: Read Louisiana’s SB 586.]

Maine: License required in sale of unpasteurized milk case
Maine court fight pits farmers against one another 
New York Times   (06/18/2014)   Jess Bidgood
[Editor’s note: Read Maine v. Brown [PDF 188KB], Maine Supreme Judicial Court, decided June 17, 2014, opinion by Justice Donald G. Alexander.]

Maryland: ‘Vaportini’ devices outlawed, use is a misdemeanor
New Maryland laws go into effect today
The Baynet (07/01/2014)   John Tayman
[Editor’s note: Read Maryland’s HB 0004.]

Massachusetts: Law gives domestic workers employment insurance and worker’s comp.
New Massachusetts law extends protections to domestic workers 
Insurance Journal   (07/03/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Massachusetts’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.]

Michigan: Mothers may breastfeed in any place open to general public
Michigan ‘Breastfeeding Anti-Discrimination Act’ signed by Gov. Snyder protects nursing mothers 
Michigan Live   (06/24/2014)   Jonathan Oosting
[Editor’s note: Read Michigan’s Breastfeeding Anti-Discrimination Act.]

Minnesota: E-cigarettes banned in public school district buildings and day cares
6 new laws that take effect in Minnesota today 
My Fox Twin Cities   (07/01/2014)   Lindsey LaBelle
[Editor’s note: Read Minnesota’s SF 2027.]

Mississippi: Department of Human Services delays drug testing for welfare benefits
Mississippi enacting dozens of new laws Tuesday 
Jackson Free Press   (01/04/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Mississippi’s HB 49 and about the testing delay.]

Missouri: Law allows single twelve ounce beer purchases
A-B gets wish: Missouri law will allow sale of single beer bottles and pouches 
St. Louis Post Dispatch   (06/27/2014)   Virginia Young
[Editor’s note: Read Missouri’s SB 689.]

Montana: Lawmakers working for general ban on texting while driving
Montana: Texting is still allowed while driving by law 
Inquisitr    (06/12/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read more about state distracted driving laws.]

Nebraska: Improvements to state emergency radio system
Progress seen in fixing Nebraska’s emergency radio system 
Omaha.com   (07/07/2014)   Paul Hammel

Nevada: Law requires DNA test for all felony arrests
Brianna’s Law, or DNA testing for felony arrests, begins in Nevada 
RGJ.com   (07/01/2014)   Ray Hagar
[Editor’s note: Read Brianna’s Law [PDF 387KB].]

New Hampshire: Law distinguishes domestic violence from other types of violent crime
Hassan signs law named after boy killed by father 
Eagle Tribune   (06/20/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Joshua’s Law.]

New Jersey: State senate passes bill to raise tobacco purchase age to twenty-one
New Jersey lawmakers not sold on bill to raise tobacco-buying age 
Lehigh Valley Live   (07/07/2014)   Sarah Peters
[Editor’s note: Read New Jersey’s SB 602.]

New Mexico: Law banning all forms of texting while driving takes effect
New Mexico’s texting while driving law goes into effect on Tuesday 
Four Corners News   (06/30/2014)   Joshua Kellogg
[Editor’s note: Read New Mexico’s SB 19.]

New York: New law allows non-smokeable form of medical marijuana
New York becomes 23rd state to allow medical marijuana 
CBS   (07/07/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read New York’s S 01682.]

North Carolina: City’s cellphone ban preempted by state law
North Carolina Supreme Court strikes down cellphone law 
Fox   (06/12/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read King v. Town of Chapel Hill, Supreme Court of North Carolina, filed June 12, 2014, opinion by Justice Paul M. Newby.]

North Dakota: Attorney General concerned by increased drug trafficking
North Dakota binge drinking, DUIs down; drug trafficking up 
Bismarck Tribune   (07/01/2014)   James MacPherson

Ohio: Law allows sale, but not use of certain fireworks
Ohio fireworks law allows you to buy but not use 
WDTN   (07/02/2014)   Natalie Tendall
[Editor’s note: Read Ohio’s fireworks laws [PDF 620KB].]

Oklahoma: Public call for law creating storm shelters in public schools
Take Shelter Oklahoma launches second petition 
News 9 (07/03/2014)   Alex Cameron

Oregon: Landlords may not discriminate against federal housing assistance recipients
Oregon anti-discrimination law means landlords can no longer advertise ‘no section 8’ 
The Oregonian   (07/01/2014)   Brad Schmidt
[Editor’s note: Read Oregon’s Chapter 659A.]

Pennsylvania: Law seeks to improve safety by making it harder to sell stolen scrap
Pennsylvania law aims to deter scrap metal thefts from railroads  
69 News   (07/01/2014)  
[Editor’s note:  Read Pennsylvania’s Act No. 79 of 2014.]

Rhode Island: Study finds one in five rental properties compliant with lead paint law
Rhode Island lead paint law not followed 
WPRI.com   (07/07/2014)   Michelle R. Smith
[Editor’s note: Read Primary Prevention of Lead Poisoning: Protecting Children From Unsafe Housing, by Michelle L. Rogers, James A. Lucht, Alyssa J. Sylvaria, Jessica Cigna, Robert Vanderslice, and Patrick M. Vivier, American Journal of Public Health, Published online ahead of print June 12, 2014: e1–e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301908).]

South Carolina: State’s new texting while driving preempts Charleston’s ban
Under new S.C. texting ban, penalties lessened in Charleston and Mt. Pleasant 
Charleston City Paper   (06/11/2014)   Paul Bowers
[Editor’s note: Read South Carolina’s H 3630.]

South Dakota: Domestic abuse protections expanded to include non-cohabitation
More than 200 new South Dakota laws taking effect 
Miami Herald   (06/30/2014)   Nora Hertel
[Editor’s note: Read South Dakota’s SB 7.]

Tennessee: Prescription required to buy 28.8 grams of pseudoephedrine per year
Anti-meth law among those taking effect in Tennessee today 
Times Free Press   (06/30/2014)  
[Editor’s note: Read Tennessee’s HB 1574.]

Texas: New boat draining law leads to poorly plugged boats sinking
New state law aimed at protecting Texas waterways 
KHOU.com   (06/30/2014)   Jeremy Desel
[Editor’s note: Read about Texas’s law and efforts to stop the spread of invasive zebra mussels.]

Utah: Killing rattlesnakes illegal unless person feels life endangered by snake
Why killing Utah rattlesnakes is illegal and when there are exceptions 
KSL.com   (06/25/2014)   Faith Heaton Jolley
[Editor’s note: Read about Utah’s rattlesnake laws and how to stay safe around rattlesnakes.]

Vermont: New law bans smoking in cars with child passengers
VT anti-smoking law among nation’s strictest 
Burlington Free Press   (06/27/2014)   Wilson Ring
[Editor’s note: Read Vermont’s Act 135 and other smoke-free laws.]

Virginia: Hospitals now have twelve hours to locate psychiatric bed for patient
A host of new Va. Laws take effect today 
ABC 13   (06/30/2014)
[Editor’s note: Read Virginia’s Code sections 37.2-308.1 and 37.2-809.1 regarding the state’s new web-based psychiatric bed registry and involuntary temporary detention laws.]

Washington: Only twenty stores have permits to sell recreational marijuana
Ready, steady, puff! Washington State starts legal pot sales Tuesday 
RT.com   (07/07/2014)    
[Editor’s note: Read more about state medical and recreational marijuana laws.]

West Virginia: Cyclists no longer required to use path adjacent to road
New West Virginia bike law gives cyclists cushion 
Wetzel Chronicle   (06/25/2014)   Bruce Crawford
[Editor’s note: Read West Virginia’s HB 4304.]

Wisconsin: High-capacity wells may not be challenged for failure to consider impact
High-capacity well permit protections in effect in Wisconsin 
National Law Review   (07/01/2014)   David A. Crass, Anna J. Wildeman, and Angela A. James
[Editor’s note: Read Wisconsin’s Statute 281.34(5m)].

Wyoming: New ‘bodily injury’ criminal code definition
Dozens of new laws now in effect 
Wyoming.com   (07/04/2014) Trevor Brown
[Editor’s note: Read Wyoming’s HB 0009 [PDF 22KB].]

Interview with Dr. Rueben C. Warren, Professor & Director of the National Center for Bioethics In Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University

Title:
Professor of Bioethics and Director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care

Education: 
D.D.S., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., M.Div.

PHLN: Will you please describe your career path?

Warren: I grew up in an underserved community in South Central Los Angeles, California. Because there were few physicians and even fewer dentists, I decided to pursue a career in oral health care. After finishing college at San Francisco State University in 1968, I entered dental school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. During the summer between my junior and senior year of dental school, I worked in rural southeast North Carolina. I was based in Soul City where the local residents were rebuilding the community; providing health care was essential. We traveled throughout several counties organizing and implementing local fairs with the county health department, the faith community, local publicly elected officials, and local residents. I returned to Meharry knowing that one-on-one patient care was important, but was not sufficient to address the massive oral and systemic health challenges I observed. I decided to pursue a public health career.

PHLN: What drew you to working in public health?

Warren: Public health is population-based, and after the summer in rural North Carolina, I knew that health was broader than discussed in dental or medical school, so I applied to and was accepted at the Harvard School of Public Health. Because I was a dentist, I was also accepted at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and several other dental programs at dental and public health schools. I choose the Harvard School of Public Health because experience had taught me that systemic health was associated with oral health, and I had already learned much about oral health. The exposure to public health at Harvard during my M.P.H. year resulted in my desire to learn more about applied research and policy development, so I pursued a Dr.P.H. concentrating in three areas: health services administration, (now called health policy and management) health education and dental public health. My research focus was health services research. I was also selected to be a teaching fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and a clinical resident at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. The clinical residency was a requirement to be eligible to become a Diplomate in the American Board of Dental Public Health. In 1986, I took and passed my boards.

After working in the academy for several years, I realized that the responsibility for the public’s health in the U.S. resided at the state level, so I left the academy in 1980 to become dental director for the State of Mississippi. In 1983, I returned to the academy as dean of the School of Dentistry, Meharry Medial College because, consistent with the College mission to served underserved populations, I realized that medical and dental students needed to learn more about public health, as primary care practitioners. In 1988, after five-and-a-half years as dean, I joined CDC as associate director for Minority Health. Then CDC Director Dr. James Mason was responding to the 1985 Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health, which documented that health could be chronicled by race and ethnicity. The Office of the associate director for Minority Health at CDC was the first Minority Health Office established in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I later accepted a position as associate director of Environmental Justice at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which subsequently merged with the National Center for Environmental Health. I later pursued a masters of divinity (M.Div.) at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, concentrating in theology and ethics because the issues of racial and ethnic health disparities extended beyond the technologies and disciplines of science into domains of metaphysics and complementary and alternative medicine.

PHLN: This July is the 40th anniversary of the National Research Act, which is closely tied to Tuskegee University. Will you please describe the events that lead to the National Research Act and how the Act is tied to Tuskegee?

Warren: The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee ended in 1972. In 1974, the National Research Act was signed into law to identify basic principles of research conduct and suggest ways to ensure those principles were followed. Most importantly, for the first time, researchers were required to get voluntary, informed consent from all persons taking part in studies done or funded by the then Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW). An essential part of the review process was that all research funded by DHEW using human subjects had to be reviewed by Institutional Review Board (IRB), which reviews study protocols and decides whether they meet ethical standards. While IRBs are critical for all ethical human subject research, and I should add, animal research, concerns remain about measurably, meaningfully, and authentically assuring that all research subjects are fully informed before consenting.

PHLN: How has the National Research Act changed public health practice? 

Warren: The Act has done much to improve the consent process, but much more is needed. Unfortunately, for many, IRBs are perceived as another barrier that prevent or slow good science’s ability to move forward. IRBs are perceived as just another bureaucratic process requiring more paper work. Unless more work is done to change the perception and value of IRBs, violations will continue. The IRB process has improved research practice, but much, much more is needed. It is difficult, if not impossible, to legislate ethics; an unethical person will be probably become an unethical researcher.

PHLN: In 1997 President William Jefferson Clinton issued an apology on behalf of the nation for the so-called "Tuskegee Study." As part of the apology, President Clinton created the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care (Bioethics Center), of which you are the director. Can you please describe what went into requesting a formal apology and why it is vital to the future of ethical bioethical and public health practices?

Warren: In his 1997 apology, President Clinton said, “The United States government did something that was wrong, deeply, profoundly and morally wrong.” In 1996, a group of scientists, ethics, clinicians, public health officials, publicly elected officials, Tuskegee University faculty, and residents met at the university to discussed the fact that an apology for U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee had never been given and the because the federal government conducted the so-called study the President of the United States should apologize to the men who were in the study, their families, the Black community, and the Nation. However, an apology was not enough. The Tuskegee Legacy Committee (which became the group’s name) requested that the President also establish a bioethics center on Tuskegee University’s campus to prevent similar violations from reoccurring.

As a component of President Clinton’s speech, he mandated that the Bioethics Center be established, and in 1999 the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care opened on the campus of Tuskegee University. The Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University has a specific mission to ensure optimal health among African Americans and other health disparity populations. The approach is by synergized spheres of ethics including, but not limited to, bioethics, public health ethics, research ethics, healthcare ethics, social-economic ethics, and communication ethics. The tensions between these various ethics spheres are where new and exciting opportunities to improve the human condition reside.

PHLN: In your opinion, what are the most important lessons learned from Tuskegee?

Warren: The most important lessons learned from what happened at Tuskegee is that ethics are drawn from the experiences of different populations may vary. However, there are several basic values that undergird all ethics, such as the respect for human life. It may be difficult to decide what is right, but deciding what is wrong is more easily agreed upon.

PHLN: What is the relationship between law and ethics and what are the perils of misunderstanding that relationship? 

Warren: Ethics precedes the law. Paraphrasing Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr., when he said, “It is unethical to obey an unjust law.” One must have open, honest and transparent dialogue about ethics prior to discussing the law.

PHLN: Do you see a relationship between law, ethics, and civil rights?

Warren: The Civil Rights Movement evolved because of civil rights violations against Black people in the U.S. In order to challenge the civil and human right violations, people of good will had to violate laws until the laws were changed. Ethics undergird both human and civil rights, and human-made laws must conform ethically for the betterment of all humankind, for them be sustained.

PHLN: Please describe the Center for Bioethics and its day-to-day work.

Warren: The Bioethics Center is engaged in research (inquiry) education (teaching and learning) and community engagement. These activities are divided among nine staff. There are four faculty, two academic staff, and three administrative staff. Our work is at several levels: local, state, regional, national, and global. We teach classes to undergraduate and graduate students. The faculty present at national conferences and continue to publish in referred journals and book chapters. We also consult and advise students.We continually engage community residents in order to remain grounded in our work.

PHLN: How does the Center for Bioethics achieve its goals in its three main focus areas: research, education, and service?

Warren: As previously indicated, over the last three years, the faculty has published approximately ten articles, book chapters, or books per year. In addition, the Bioethics Center runs a Bioethics Honors Program for undergraduate students in all majors, who have a 3.5 GPA or better. We have continuing community engagement activities with the faith, public educational, and civil communities.

PHLN: Why is community engagement vital to ethical public health and biomedical practices?

Warren: Community engagement is the ability to listen authentically and respond to community desires. Community engagement is beyond outreach because it reaches beyond need.

PHLN: What is the difference between community engagement and community service?

Warren: Service is an effort of unilateral output. Engagement is bilateral. When measuring community engagement, the giver usually receives more than he or she gives.  

PHLN: How has your master of divinity changed your perspective on ethics and helped you lead the Center for Bioethics?

Warren: It allows me to envision new possibilities and know that right always prevails. The faith community knows that, at the spiritual level, neither time nor place exist. I am also clear that religion and spirituality may overlap, but they are not the same.

PHLN: What advice would you give young public health and public health law practitioners?

Warren: Public health is a growing field, and they should pursue it with vigor, creativity, and excitement. Acquire the skill and expand on what you were taught. Public health is social justice, nothing more, nothing less!

PHLN: If you hadn’t chosen a career in public health, what other interests might you pursue?

Warren: Probably law, theology, or philosophy. I was admitted to law school when I finished dental school because I felt lawyers studied and understood civil systems.

PHLN: Have you read any good books lately?

Warren: Yes, “How We Do Harm” by Otis Webb Brawley M.D. and “Breaking Ground, My Life in Medicine” by Louis Sullivan.

PHLN: Is there anything you would like to add?

Warren: Have a blessed day.

[Editor’s note: In 1997, President Bill Clinton apologized on behalf of the nation to the patients, survivors, and family members of the Tuskegee Study. Learn more about the Tuskegee Study and the reparations made to the families. Learn more about Tuskegee University’s Center for Bioethics. Also, read the National Research Act, the changes brought about in bio-medical ethics and civil rights law by the exposure of the Tuskegee study, and other laws and resources related to human subjects research.]

The first reader to correctly answer the Quiz question will be given a mini-public health law profile in the July 2014 edition of the News. Entries should be emailed to PHLawProgram@cdc.gov with “PHL Quiz” as the subject heading. Entries without the heading will not be considered. Good luck!  

Public Health Law News Quiz Question: July 2014

According to the July 2014 edition of the News, which state recently outlawed “vaportini” devices?

Jayme Bradshaw

Response to the June 2014 Public Health Law News Quiz: Illinois.

Employment organization and job title: I am employed at Livingston County Public Health Department in Pontiac, Illinois. I am the home services program coordinator for the Livingston County Community Health Care Program. I also work with the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Program and the Pathways to Community Living Program.

A brief explanation of your job: Each of the programs I work in is designed to help seniors and persons with disabilities obtain home and community-based services so they can remain safely in their homes for as long as possible. As the home services program coordinator, I am responsible for supervision, implementation, and evaluation of the county-based program. This program provides care to individuals in need of assistance with everyday activities, such as personal care, housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation. In all roles I keep abreast of available resources, work with people to identify ill-defined needs, and link them to appropriate services.

Education: I have a master’s degree in social work, with an emphasis on domestic violence. I am a licensed clinical social worker. I am enrolled in a public health management certificate program.

Favorite section of the News: I like the Briefly Noted section because it provides insight on the direction of policies that are on the public health landscape.

Why are you interested in public health law? Every public health issue is shaped by our laws, whether it is newborn screenings, food safety, emergency preparedness, or domestic violence. Laws guide our programs, funding, and actions. They create the framework in which we work. Laws regulate what services we have available and how they will be delivered. When there are gaps in services or unmet needs, we look to the law to determine how we can address those needs. They mirror our culture and beliefs, and as our attitudes change our laws evolve to reflect them.

Do you have any hobbies? I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. As a CASA, I am appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children who reside in foster homes.