THE PHILADELPHIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH has Program Units listed as the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office; Air Management Services; Ambulatory Health Services; Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association; Division of Disease Control; Coordinating Office for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs; Environmental Health Services; Injury Prevention Program; Childhood Lead Poisoning; Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health; Medical Examiner's Office; and Tuberculosis Control.
THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH MANAGEMENT CORPORATION provides health promotion and disease prevention, substance abuse treatment, early intervention services to children, injury and violence prevention and parenting education. It researches community health issues and provides technical assistance to nonprofits.
THE DREXEL UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR HEALTH EQUALITY, through its faculty at the School of Public Health and the College of Nursing and Health Professions, and its working relationships with communities in Philadelphia and with health care experts, has developed a broad set of strategies to address health disparities. These include conducting research; developing educational programs and materials; and convening national, state and local conferences on cultural competence and racial and ethnic disparity reduction.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PUBLIC HEALTH is an interdisciplinary collaboration among eight schools. In addition to the faculty from the School of Medicine where the program is housed, faculty from Nursing, Arts and Sciences, Social Policy and Practice, Veterinary Medicine, Education, Wharton and Dental Medicine take part. The teaching priorities are issues deemed "current national public health priorities." These are listed as "physical activity, overweight and obesity, tobacco, substance abuse, responsible sexual behavior, mental health, injury and violence, environmental quality, immunizations, and access to health care."
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY'S DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH addresses "health across populations, including issues such as, infectious and chronic disease, environmental hazards and substance abuse." Several dual degrees are offered, combining the Master In Public Health with the Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathy Medicine, and Master of Social Work, and a degree combining the Master of Science in Environmental Health with a Master of Business Administration and Management. Its chair worked with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health developing an infrastructure for maternal and child health services, and with the School District of Philadelphia to evaluate a school violence prevention initiative.
DREXEL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH aims to "promote health and quality of life through graduate education, applied research, and community service in the prevention and control of disease, injury, and disability." Its community collaborations include the Philadelphia GROW Project, which works with families to improve the growth of their children, preventing hunger and food insecurity, and promoting the health of Philadelphians. It also has a Center for Health Equality.
RUTGERS-CAMDEN LAW SCHOOL has faculty who teach health law. One is the lead co-author of the widely-used health law casebook "Law and the American Health Care System," and has testified several times in Congress about patients' rights and managed care.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT has a professor whose specialties include Health Policy, with writings that include "The Elusive Quest for Universal Health Care: Organized Labor and the Institutional Straightjacket of the Private Welfare State."
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter, conducts education and enlists citizens on public health concerns including HIV/AIDS, blood shortages, and emergency planning.
CHOICE INC. provides services to more than 50,000 people annually, including family planning, disease transmission/prevention, referrals, counseling, education and advocacy.
PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY HEALTH ALTERNATIVES is a nonprofit organization identifying, advocating for and supporting the physical and mental-health needs of sexual minorities.
THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA COALITION AGAINST HUNGER fights hunger in Southeastern Pennsylvania through education, outreach, and advocacy. It functions as an information clearinghouse and a catalyst for collective action on public policy.
THE PHILADELPHIA BLACK WOMEN'S HEALTH PROJECT is a community-based organization "committed to reversing the pervasive and negative health care trends for Black women and the related impact of health disparities on their families and communities." It holds workshops, symposiums, community events, and health fairs with over 40 percent of those served recipients of public assistance.
THE 21ST CENTURY LEAGUE is a group of concerned citizens who voluntarily undertake projects that benefit Greater Philadelphia. It currently is focusing on the impact of major policy and budgetary changes underway in Washington and Harrisburg, known collectively as devolution, that shift responsibility from the national to state and local governments and in most instances, reallocate and reduce public spending. The League has published nine major reports on welfare reform and continues to monitor its impact on Philadelphia.
