Institute of Public Health Law

Public health crises often raise complex legal issues. Does standard business insurance cover an anthrax attack? What are the legal rights of people quarantined for SARS?

Institute of Public Health Law

The CDC Foundation is launching a new Institute of Public Health Law as an operating arm of the Foundation. The Institute will complement CDC’s established Public Health Law Program and will focus on areas that are more easily handled in the private sector through research, training and outreach.

The Institute will aim to strengthen and create networks, study trends, encourage best practices, share lessons learned, and offer practical solutions for putting public health law into action at the grassroots level during public health emergencies and crises.

To achieve its vision, the Institute will focus on five major areas:

  • Creating a network of international public health law experts to promote professional collaboration and communication around urgent public health issues and emergency preparedness
  • Conducting outreach to businesses in the U.S. and abroad to explore shared interests and concerns about public health law and emergency preparedness
  • Addressing community development issues and “smart growth” practices, such as zoning policies, traffic congestion, and environmental concerns
  • Developing training tools to educate public health professionals about how law is used in a public health crisis
  • Coordinating interdisciplinary research about the growing impact of communications technology on public health law and policies during emergencies

The Foundation is currently seeking start-up funds for the Institute of Public Health Law. To learn more about how to support the Institute, contact Chloe Tonney at (404) 653-0790 or ctonney@cdc.gov.

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