Hospital Spotlight: Denver Health
The Lown Institute has launched a new blog series spotlighting socially responsible hospitals across the nation. For the inaugural piece, the spotlight is on Denver Health. More
Black Blood and a Black Crayon: The fight for desegregating blood donations
Dr. Charles Drew revolutionized blood donations...yet racist policies prevented him from participating in the very programs he had created. More
Black Maternal Health in American History
A new study found that the Black maternal mortality gap exists regardless of income. Where did this start, and how are we fixing it? More
The Intersection of Black History, Queer Studies, and Medicine
To understand the impacts of social determinants of health, bioethics, and the history of this country, one must also understand the overlap of intersectional identities. More
How firearm trauma impacts hospital staff
Firearm violence is an ever-present concern, and Black Americans are disproportionately subjected to it. How does this impact the clinicians caring for victims, who must deal with the trauma and injustice daily? More
Community power: A missing piece for health policy
Can community empowerment solve persistent population health disparities that other strategies have failed to fix? More
Where have all the nurses gone?
After enduring years of stressful and heartbreaking work through the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare workers are quitting in droves. What can we do about the healthcare staffing crisis? More
Viewpoint: Closing pediatric units is short-sighted and reflects a broken system
While hospital systems focus on more lucrative adult care operations, often sacrificing pediatric care in the process, the consequences of such decisions are often ignored, Brenna Miller, a health communications specialist at think tank the Lown Institute, wrote on its site Dec. 5. More
Pediatrics and profits: Why children’s hospital units are closing
Pediatric units are closing across the country, leaving parents and their sick kids without easy access to healthcare. Why is this happening, and what are the long-term consequences? More
Bernard Lown Award nominations are open!
Nominations for the annual Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility are now open! More
Balancing hope and uncertainty: The controversy behind the new ALS drug
The reasoning behind this decision has to do with a complex bioethical question - if there is the potential to treat a previously untreatable disease with a new pharmaceutical, but the consequences are unknown, do you prescribe the drug? Is the unknown enough to deny patients hope? More
Private Equity and Healthcare Part 2: Nursing and Older Adult Care
Over the past 20 years, private equity investments in the United States healthcare sector have increased twentyfold, reaching above $100 billion. How have these acquisitions changed the business practices of hospitals and other healthcare organizations? This blog is the second in a series the Lown Institute is developing on the effects and implications of private equity acquisitions sweeping the healthcare industry. More
“As the guardians of health, we can’t look away”: Mona Hanna-Attisha accepts the Bernard Lown Award
On the 101st birthday of Dr. Lown, hear from Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha on what we need from clinicians to ensure that more kids can celebrate more birthdays. More
Pediatrician who uncovered Flint water crisis wins national award for social responsibility in medicine
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the Michigan-based pediatrician who exposed the Flint water crisis, has been named the winner of the inaugural Bernard Lown Award for Social Responsibility. More
The medicalization of death: What does it mean and what can we do about it?
Deaths in high-income countries have largely become "medicalized," moving more and more into the purview of the health care system. What are the implications of this change for families and for health systems around the world? The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death recently released a report addressing the medicalization of death and why it matters. More