Leana Wen
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- Milken Institute54 min
Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis
Edward Greissing, Dan Diamond, Megan L. Ranney, Babak Sarani, Leana Wen, Mallory Williams, Chris Corey, Josh Wright, Hazelwood
A diverse panel of medical experts and advocates asserts that while gun violence is increasingly recognized as a public health epidemic, federal research funding remains critically stagnant due to the 1996 Dickey Amendment, leaving survivors of mass shootings without verified data tracking. Consequently, the group advocates for shifting focus from sweeping federal bans on assault rifles to localized, holistic interventions such as Baltimore's "Safe Streets" violence interruption model and evidence-based policies targeting high-capacity magazines and domestic violence. Looking forward, the panel predicts that systemic change will likely emerge from private sector risk incentives and upstream socioeconomic investments rather than immediate national legislative breakthroughs.
- Milken Institute57 min
Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health in America
Meg Tirrell, Michael Lu, Christy Turlington Burns, Lauren Underwood, Leana Wen
With over 700 U.S. women dying annually from pregnancy-related causes and stark racial disparities driving these statistics, Representative Lauren Underwood established the bipartisan Black Maternal Health Caucus to mobilize legislative action and secure federal funding for research. This caucus is advancing critical reforms including extending Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months, mandating implicit bias training for accredited providers, and scaling safety bundle protocols that have previously reduced maternal mortality by 60%. Addressing systemic barriers such as over-medicalization and social determinants, the initiative seeks to replace the archaic six-week checkup model with continuous care and technology integration to treat maternal health with the urgency of other major public health crises.