Newswise — As health-related topics develop during the Democratic National Convention, Rush University System for Health’s media team is here to connect you with sources who can share fresh perspectives on the issues, including health equity, mental health care for veterans, insulin pricing, climate change,  abortion and maternal mortality. 

Who gets the chance to be healthy? Health is a human right, so why doesn’t everyone have the chance to be healthy? 

Sources: 

John Rich, MD, MPH, director of the RUSH BMO Institute for Health Equity, is an expert on healing communities and addressing health inequities. Related media: 

 David A. Ansell, MD, MPH, senior vice president for community health equity, and author of "The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills,” takes an innovative approach to improving the health of a community. Related media: 

  • Wealth, not health: For this hospital, closing Chicago’s alarming ‘death gap’ didn’t mean more clinics: STAT News     

Veteran’s Mental Health: Combat veteran/psychologist knows what works, what doesn’t 

Blake Schroedter, PsyD, an assistant professor at Rush Medical College, is a clinical psychologist for the Road Home Program, which provides free mental health care to military veterans and their families struggling to make a transition to civilian life.  

How capping insulin prices has impacted the life of the working poor  

Sources:  

Michael Hanak, MD, family medicine physician, treats patients with diabetes who have benefited from caps on insulin prices. Related media:

Carl E. Lambert, Jr., MD, is a family medicine physician, who, like Dr. Hanak, has heard from patients who no longer need to ration insulin or choose between food, rent or the medicine they need to live, because of the insulin price cap.   

How climate change is affecting health and health care 

Sources:  

Ian Hughes, director of environmental sustainability, leads the effort to reduce Rush’s carbon footprint.  Related media: 

 Sindhura Bandi, MD, is an allergist and immunologist who can speak to how climate change is lengthening allergy seasons, worsening allergies and asthma conditions. Related media:  

  • Allergy season could be longer, more intense thanks to climate change: ABC 7 Chicago

Black women are 3 times more likely to suffer pregnancy-related deaths. Why?  

Sources: 

Robin L. Jones, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist and a leader on the subject of pregnancy related deaths and disparities. Dr. Jones leads the Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Related media: 

  • Black Chicagoans address solutions to maternal mortality: Chicago Tribune  
  • More Than 90% of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Are Potentially Preventable; Black Women Face the Highest Risk: WTTW-TV 

Robin W. Drake, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is an authority on improving maternal health and addressing disparities. Related media:  

Coordinating complex abortion care after the Dobbs decision 

Sources: 

Laura Laursen, MD, MS, is an obstetrician-gynecologist who leads a program coordinating academic medical center physicians and patients who need complex abortion care, to address an influx of out-of-state patients while also providing for Illinois women. Related media: 

  • Illinois hospitals face an influx of patients traveling for complex abortion care: NPR 
  • As Abortion Access Shrinks, Hospitals Fill in the Gaps: New York Times

Sadia Haider, MD, MPH, is acting chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an authority on complex contraception, preventing HIV in women, and the effect of the Dobbs decision on maternal health. Related media: 

  • Illinois clinics ramp up aid for women seeking abortions across state lines: PBS News Hour

To connect with one of our experts, please contact a member of the Rush media relations team.