Salk Health Activist Fellows Present Strategies to Improve Pennsylvania’s Substance Use Policies
Type: News
Focus Area: Workforce Development
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato speaks during the Salk Fellowship finale.
This year’s Salk Health Activist Fellowship sought to inspire insight and effective policy change to transform Pennsylvania’s ongoing response to the opioid epidemic. Punctuated by a powerful address from Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato – one of our region’s greatest champions of substance use policy change – during the fellowship finale on November 19, an interdisciplinary group of 23 fellows were equipped with insight, skills, and strategy to advance policy change to tackle one of our major public health challenges.
“You know your story and the work you’ve done best,” said Executive Innamorato to the fellows during the finale. “Please use it and be a force for good in the world and try to change policy and get the best possible thing enacted to support the most amount of people.”
Over the past 20 years, the US has experienced a growing crisis of substance use disorders and addiction that is most evident by the dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths. While, for the first time in decades, a report released in September shows a drop in drug overdose deaths in the U.S., there is still much work to be done to increase access to services. Pennsylvania has the 38th mortality rate from drug overdoses, and reporting from earlier this year highlights how Pennsylvania lags much of the country in important public health policies – like access to syringe service programs that facilitate access to health care and other services – that could greatly improve services for those with substance use disorders. During the nine-week Salk Fellowship, fellows identified critical policy issues that hold the greatest potential impact and developed strategies to help move the needle on Pennsylvania’s health outcomes.
Twenty-three fellows participated in this year’s Salk Health Activist Fellowship focusing on the state’s substance use policies.
“This fellowship allowed me to learn so much about the advocacy process. Tapping into the humanity of your audience is key to getting your message across and the skills I learned here allow me to be more capable and confident when doing so,” said Kaitlin Sweeney, a Master of Public Health student at the University of Pittsburgh. “I’ve already found myself reaching out more to community-based organizations and coalitions in hopes to integrate myself into their advocacy work and pass on the knowledge I’ve gained here.”
This cohort of students and professionals from diverse backgrounds consistently demonstrated a dedication to make meaningful change on substance use policies and worked together across their various areas of expertise in a truly collaborative learning environment.
“Participating in the Salk Health Activist Fellowship was an enriching experience,” said Ashanti Duncan, office and administrative coordinator at Prevention Point Pittsburgh. “I had the opportunity to not only meet influential stakeholders in the community but also engage in genuinely meaningful conversations about how to create sustainable change. It gave me the motivation to continue advocating for those who are most marginalized.”
The fellows built advocacy action plans focused on either advancing or updating existing policies in Pennsylvania in areas such as: addressing substance use among pregnant and postpartum individuals, updating Pennsylvania’s Good Samaritan Law, improving access to substance use treatment, syringe service program legalization and decriminalization, medications for opioid use disorder in carceral settings, the intersection of substance use and the workforce, and access to supportive resources for youth.
"This has been a very informative and useful Fellowship. Not only did I learn an incredible amount about substance use policy, but I feel more equipped and empowered to affect policy change and improve the situation for residents across Pennsylvania,” said Luke Johnson, MD, MPH, FFPH, FHEA, medical resident at Allegheny Health Network.
Throughout the fellowship experience, fellows engaged with leading voices in both substance use policy and experts in strategic advocacy, including: Donna Cooper, MPA, MIM, executive director of Children First; Erin Dalton, MSPPM, director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services; Sydney Etheredge, MPH, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania; Stuart Fisk, CRNP, MSN, Coordinator for Opioid Settlement Funds at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services; Representative Dan Frankel of the 23rd Legislative District; Jourdan Hicks, MS.Ed, founder and CEO of Herbert Way Co.; Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Raagini Jawa, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Latika D. Davis-Jones, PhD, MPH, MSW, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs; Representative Emily Kinkead of the 20th Legislative District; Kiley Koscinski, reporter at WESA; Representative Jim Rigby of the 71st Legislative District; Bradley Stein, PhD, MD, MPH, director of the RAND Opioid Policy Center of Research Excellence at RAND Corporation; Halle Stockton, executive director and editor-in-chief at PublicSource; and Representative Jim Struzzi of the 62nd Legislative District.
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation is committed to developing the next generation of health policy leaders. For more information about future fellowship opportunities, please visit Feinstein Fellowships.