Newswise — After years of progress, the average life expectancy in the U.S. has been on the decline for three consecutive years. The second annual Bloomberg American Health Summit—taking place November 12 and 13, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland—will bring together national leaders, policymakers, advocates, and innovators from across the country to share new knowledge and evidence-based practices around five focus areas implicated in reducing U.S. life expectancy: addiction and overdose, adolescent health, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, and violence. 

The Summit is an annual convening hosted by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Initiative was launched in 2016 in response to declining life expectancy in the U.S., with the goal of addressing some of the country’s most critical health challenges. The Initiative also administers the Bloomberg Fellows Program, which provides full-tuition scholarships for public health graduate degrees at the Bloomberg School to professionals whose work aligns with that of the Initiative.

The 2019 Summit will begin on Nov. 12 with a morning plenary featuring high-level speakers and experts. Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent at PBS NewsHour, will host.

Plenary speakers will include: Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies; Henry Waxman, chairman of Waxman Strategies and former U.S. Congressman; Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation; Gary Slutkin, founder and CEO of Cure Violence; Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; Carl Pope, principal of Inside Straight Strategies; and Stacey Stewart, president and CEO of March of Dimes.

Speakers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will include Ellen MacKenzie, Bloomberg School Dean; Joshua Sharfstein, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Vice Dean of the School; and Michelle Spencer, associate director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

What: 
The second annual Bloomberg American Health Summit

Where: 
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel
202 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD

When: 
November 12 – 8:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. (livestream 8:30 a.m. – noon)
November 13 – 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The 2019 Summit has a focus on the Bloomberg Fellows; the afternoon of Nov. 12 and morning of Nov. 13 will feature breakout sessions for the Fellows, with networking and skill-building opportunities. Bloomberg Fellows enroll in the Master of Public Health (MPH) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) programs at the Bloomberg School with the support of their employer.

The Summit will take place at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. The Summit is invitation-only, but the Nov. 12 plenary will be livestreamed. Most sessions are open to the press.

For additional questions about the Bloomberg American Health Summit, please contact Marianne Amoss, 410-614-1892 or [email protected],or Jean Weinberg, 332-201-0508 or [email protected].

ABOUT THE BLOOMBERG AMERICAN HEALTH INITIATIVE
Through education, research, and practice, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative aims to impact five challenges to the nation’s health: addiction and overdose, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, risks to adolescent health, and violence. One part of the Initiative, the Bloomberg Fellows Program, offers full scholarships for MPH and DrPH degrees for individuals working on the front lines to advance health in the U.S. The Initiative was founded with a gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in honor of the centennial of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Visit americanhealth.jhu.edu to learn more.

Journal Link: Bloomberg American Health Initiative