ASU receives $1M more to expand public-health law network
James G. Hodge Jr. is the director of the Western Region Office of the Network for Public Health Law, as well as ASU Law's Public Health Law and Policy Program.
The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University has received an additional $1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The additional funds enable the Western Region Office of the Network for Public Health Law, hosted by ASU Law’s Public Health Law and Policy Program, to continue in its scholarly and applied efforts focused on the role of law as a key driver for improving public health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has provided key support for this initiative, contributing more than $3.5 million since its inception.
“We are grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its generous funding for our office, consistent with its support designed to create a culture of health,” said James G. Hodge Jr., director of the Western Region Office and ASU Law’s Public Health Law and Policy Program. “Law is a critical tool for driving systemic change to improve health in our communities.”
Since its launch in 2010, the Western Region Office has responded to more than 1,500 inquiries from public-health practitioners and officials, health-care providers, lawyers, researchers, academics, policymakers, students and media in 11 Western states and nationally. Network experts provide guidance on an array of public-health law topics such as obesity prevention, vaccinations and health-information privacy.
Most recently, experts were instrumental during the Ebola epidemic and measles outbreak. Prompted by numerous requests from public-health officials at the forefront of the 2014 Ebola response, Hodge and other Western Region colleagues created an Ebola Primer highlighting real-time legal issues, policies and approaches. They also responded to numerous media inquiries, delivered multiple lectures and penned more than a dozen scholarly publications on Ebola legal preparedness.
To learn more about ASU Law’s Public Health Law and Policy Program, as well as the Western Region Office of the Network for Public Health Law, visit www.law.asu.edu/publichealthlaw.