The Bridge: Hofstra MPH Newsletter

National Public Health Week Keynote: Dr. Homer Venters Courtney File Hofstra University’s National Public Health Week allows for students and faculty to gain knowledge from distinguished guests. This year’s keynote speaker Dr. Homer Venters, a physician, epidemiologist and well-known leader in health and human rights issues did not disappoint. Dr. Venters presented new, strategies which he hopes will drastically, reduce health related problems in prisons. His new book, Life and Death in Rikers Island , outlines health risks in jails and prisons. Dr. Venters stresses, “it is embarrassing how little we know about how and why people die behind bars.” Dr. Venters discussed severe punishments and their impact on mental health issues. For example, Solitary Confinement, the “practice of putting someone in a cell by themselves for 20-23 hours per day,” is one such punishment with adverse psychological effects. One outcome is suicidal tendencies. Dr. Venter pointed out, “Suicide

Janine Logan, the Public Health Community’s Voice By Courtney File                Janine Logan, is a well-known name in the Long Island Public Health community. With multiple positions such as, Senior Director of Communications and Population Health on the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council and Director of the Long Island Population Health Program and the Long Island Health Collaborative, her impressive resume speaks for itself. Hofstra University Public Health students had the privilege of attending a professional development seminar taught by Ms. Logan. During this discussion, Logan argued how important awareness of Public Health is. She even stated, “it never fails, awareness is the problem.” Communication is of the upmost importance in Public Health, “appropriately delivering a message to different audiences is crucial,” Logan emphatically stated. The Long Island Health collaborative, which is made up of 22 different hospitals, first came together in 2013 du