On the Heights: April 2025
Departmental news, research highlights, community achievements, and more to help you stay connected with the Michigan Public Health community.
Disaster Relief
Courage and Commitment: Staffing for Crisis Care
Q&A with Kelly Rakowski, MHSA ’93
What's it like to manage health care systems and personnel during a global pandemic? For an inside view, we connected with alum Kelly Rakowski, a national staffing solutions leader. She and her team are working across the country with organizations and with “hand raisers”—retired or out-of-work health care workers stepping forward to help fight the outbreak.
PHAST Travels to US Virgin Islands to Assess Recovery After 2017 Hurricanes
Members of the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST) traveled to the US Virgin Islands to conduct a post-hurricane analysis of communities affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017.
Stretching the Field: Public Health's New Generation of Climate Change Professionals
From flooding, drought, and heatwaves to policy and health management to the unknown of a dynamic environment, climate change is placing increased pressure on public health practitioners to respond. How can the essential services we provide help our communities adapt to and thrive in these new climate realities?
IN THE NEWS: Hurricane Dorian Is Gone. But the Bahamas Still Faces a Big Risk From Infectious Disease
Joe Eisenberg Quoted by Time
Hurricane Dorian’s 185 mph winds and punishingly slow pace smashed entire neighborhoods in the Bahamas, killing at least 50 people. But now, Bahamians are facing a different kind of threat. The lack of access to toilets, clean water and medications puts tens of thousands at risk for disease, public health experts warn.
Less Hurricane Aid, Slower Response to Puerto Rico than to Texas, Florida
New Research from Charley Willison and Scott Greer
The federal response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma was faster and more generous than the help sent to Puerto Rico in preparation and in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to University of Michigan researchers.