Big Cities Health Coalition

09/03/2025

Overdose. Homelessness. Public disorder.

What do city residents really think about these issues, and what persuades them to support public health solutions?

Join us next week on Sept. 10 at 2pm ET for a webinar exploring new polling from 35 major U.S. cities. We’ll break down what messages resonate most with the public, what objections carry weight, and how to strengthen support for overdose prevention tools like naloxone, overdose prevention centers, and vending machines that distribute lifesaving supplies.

Register now at the link in the comments!

09/02/2025

Public health labs are the unsung heroes of outbreak response.

This Public Health Laboratory Appreciation Month, we recognize the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's lab teams. When Legionnaires’ disease struck Harlem this summer, their work tracing the outbreak to its source helped contain it and keep New Yorkers safe.

Across the country, public health labs do this every day—detecting threats, guiding responses, and protecting communities. Their expertise deserves recognition and sustained investment.

08/20/2025

MESSAGING RESEARCH RELEASE: Support for public health approaches to overdose prevention is strong – and it could be stronger.

Our newest playbook delivers original polling research and message testing so you have the evidence-based strategies you need to solidify support for the public health solutions to overdose that we already know work.

Get the full playbook at the link in the comments.

Huge thanks to our partners at Vital Strategies for their support for this project and Hart Research for their expert polling design and interpretation.

08/15/2025

We want our friends and colleagues at CDC to know unequivocally the strength and breadth of support that's behind them.

Along with many of our partner public health organizations – led by Trust for America's Health – we crafted the following public response:
________

In response to the horrific shooting that occurred on Friday, August 8, targeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health community stands in solidarity with our CDC colleagues. We denounce acts of harassment, terror, and violence against the public health workforce.

Our hearts break for the family of police officer David Rose who lost his life protecting his community.

Two hundred bullets struck and caused damage to six federal buildings and over 500 rounds were fired at the CDC campus. We are saddened, alarmed, and deeply concerned about the health and safety of our colleagues. The shooting was an attack on an American workplace and on the people and infrastructure that keep us all healthy and safe.

We are committed to working together to support our nation’s dedicated public servants who comprise the public health workforce and call on others to do the same. It is critical to the health of all communities that CDC and all people working in public health across the country are able to continue to make their invaluable contributions to advancing health and well-being without the fear of harassment or violence.

People choosing public health as a profession are committed to advancing our nation’s health and recognize that good health in every community benefits everyone. It is our hope that all Americans will stand with us to support the vital role that CDC and the entire public health workforce play in supporting safety and well-being in every community. Their expertise and commitment to advancing health deserves all Americans’ unwavering support.

Signed,
American Public Health Association
Association of of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Public Health Nurses
Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
Association of State and Territorial Hel of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of State and Territorial Public Health Social Workers
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)
Big Cities Health Coalition
CDC Foundation
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
de Beaumont Foundation
The Kresge FoundationNational Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD)
NACCHO
National Network of Public Health Institutes
Prevention Institute
Public Health Accreditation Board
Safe States Alliance
Trust for America's Health

08/07/2025

With measles outbreaks on the rise, Austin Public Health didn’t wait to react. They built a simulation tool to model outbreaks, which is an important step in preventing them.

The tool, supported by federal funding, is already helping schools and health officials across the country stay one step ahead.

But this kind of data-driven planning is only possible with sustained investment in public health infrastructure. As federal grants come under threat, so do the tools that protect communities from the next crisis.

At the link in the comments, read how Austin is putting federal support to work, and why that support must continue.

07/28/2025

Behind every safe restaurant or public pool is an environmental health inspector who knows what to look for and why it matters.

At Columbus Public Health, infrastructure funding from CDC helped retrain and restructure the city’s environmental health team, allowing them to inspect 230 pools in just two weeks last summer. That's a 178% increase over the year before.

This work is rooted in science, data, and a commitment to keeping people safe. It’s also a powerful example of why federal investments in local public health pay off.

Get the full story:

Thanks to CDC’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), Columbus Public Health has taken important steps to modernize and elevate the unsung field of environmental health.

07/17/2025

The new public health workforce survey data is available from the de Beaumont Foundation!

It's encouraging to see more governmental public health workers reporting that they want to stay in their role, even as the survey results also show the need to do more work on employee morale and community engagement.

We'll be releasing our analysis of the big city PH WINS findings later this year.

07/08/2025

Through its Rides to Care program, the Detroit Health Department has given >10,000 rides to pregnant people and caregivers, removing a key barrier to health care for parents and babies in the city 🎉

Learn more at the link in the comments

07/01/2025

How city health departments have helped achieve historic homicide lows – and more inspiring stories about public health https://mailchi.mp/bigcitieshealth/member-stories-070125

06/25/2025

We're standing up for vaccines. Our executive director, , will offer comment at the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting this afternoon at about 4:15pm ET.

Watch the remarks on the CDC livestream.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a federal advisory committee that develops recommendations on the use of vaccines in the civilian ...

06/23/2025

TOMORROW! Don’t miss the final installment in this year’s webinar series on supporting decision-makers in using opioid settlement funds!

Supporting Decision Makers Using Opioid Settlement Funds: Multi-Sector Strategies for Collaboration and Decision-Making

🗓 Tuesday, June 24 | 3–4:30 pm ET
Register now at link in comments

Join the Big Cities Health Coalition, Prevention Institute, ChangeLab Solutions, and RTI International to explore how multi-sector partners can strengthen opioid response efforts. This session will highlight local case studies and offer practical strategies for aligning funding with public health values and community leadership.

04/30/2025

📅 Tomorrow - register now! (12pm ET) Get strategies for effectively communicating with decision-makers about how to spend opioid settlement funds – and shifting the narrative around opioid misuse and overdose.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HMPSrMhnTVGXV9QkIz2_AA