The worlds of public health and reproductive health have lost a great leader.  The Dean Emeritus of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia has passed away at the age of 75.  Dr. Rosenfield was an OB/GYN with a passion for women’s rights and access to comprehensive reproductive health care.  He was also a [...]

Thank you to Lisa, Andy, Sadie, Jonah and Frank for your donations to PW.  Together we raised $550!  Wahoo!  (If you still want to join in the fun, it’s not too late!  The fiscal year ends today- September 30th – but donations are ALWAYS appreciated.) kd

As many of you know, I joined the board of PreventionWorks earlier this year. It’s an exciting time to be on the board because there are a lot of changes happening in response to our receiving DC funds to support needle exchange for the first time ever. Having the city money is truly great, but [...]

We’re all very proud of Kristen, who got some publicity for doing something good for the community, not for just standing in front of the supermarket like some people. From the Washington paper Metro Weekly:  Local resident Kristen Degan was honored with a ”Research Award” from the Caron Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center, at the [...]

I was dismayed to read that there may soon be a rash of “pro-life drugstores” breaking out around the country. (Washington Post article here.) These will be drugstores that will refuse to carry the birth control pill, the morning after pill, and condoms (yet will likely still carry erectile dysfunction drugs). What about the ethical [...]

In college I was fortunate to have two fantastic mentors as thesis advisors.  One of those great mentors was history professor, David Schalk. Mr. Schalk (at Vassar no one uses “Dr.”) is a patient, loving man who always spoke with the highest regard of his wife.  She was also a Vassar graduate, and I had [...]

The needle exchange funding ban was lifted in the House.  It still has to pass through the Senate, but if all goes well, it is possible that DC will be able to fund its own needle exchange starting this fall.  Hooray! Here are some great Washington Post stories that provide more details: From the front [...]

Yesterday was a day with too much news to report! Frank called me from the house at around 8:30 to tell me that the one of the houses across the street was on fire. The street was full of fire trucks (including the ladder truck from the fire station by our condo) and there was [...]