The APHA Health Law Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG), formerly the Health Law Forum, is made up of leading scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of law and public health. As a diverse and growing SPIG within APHA, we are committed to creating mechanisms through which our members can contribute to APHA meetings and activities, as well as network and communicate with each other.
To join the Health Law SPIG, please contact APHA Member Services by phone (202-777-2400) or e-mail (membership.mail@apha.org).
Chair:
Ross D. Silverman, JD, MPH
rsilverman@siumed.edu
Newsletter Editor:
Benjamin Mason Meier, JD, LLM, PhD
bmeier@unc.edu
Mission
Through the mission of the Health Law SPIG, we seek to:
· Highlight the critical role played by domestic and international law in protecting the public’s health.
· Explore a range of disciplinary perspectives to improve the scope and content of health law and public health law.
· Develop partnerships among scholars and practitioners to shape the use of legal tools for individual and public health.
· Nurture rising leaders in health law and public health law.
Health Law SPIG Activities
APHA offers several different ways for members of the Health Law SPIG to work at the intersection of law and public health, to increase their impact on the APHA governing process, and to improve communication among SPIG members.
· APHA Annual Meeting – The Health Law SPIG sponsors a series of panels during the APHA Annual Meeting. Throughout the year, the Health Law SPIG Program Committee develops a program for the Annual Meeting that is representative of the broad areas within which our members research and practice. A complete list of Health Law SPIG panels can be found at http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/HLF.html.
· Annual Health Law SPIG Business Meeting – All Health Law SPIG members are encouraged to attend the SPIG’s annual business meeting. The business meeting is an ideal place for those interested in public health law to meet and set the course of (and the discourse about) the future of public health law. This year’s will be held at the APHA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, at six-thirty on Monday, November 9th.
· Health Law Newsletter – Have any announcements, articles, case summaries, conferences or other news you wish to share with the other Health Law SPIG members? Send an e-mail to the Newsletter Editor, Benjamin Mason Meier, bmeier@unc.edu.
· APHA Governing Council – The APHA Governing Council is the APHA policy-making body. Through active involvement on the Governing Council, the Health Law SPIG shapes APHA policy to address the legal and ethical issues facing both the public health community and those receiving (or failing to receive) health services.
2009 APHA Annual Meeting Preview (Philadelphia, PA)
Awards
Jennifer Robbins Award
The Health Law Forum is pleased to sponsor the Jennifer Robbins Award. The award is given in memory of Jennifer Robbins, a lawyer whose dedication to law has served the interest of public health. Nominations should include the individual’s name, affiliation, and contact information, a statement (500 words or less) describing the nominee’s qualifications for the award, and confirmation that the individual is willing to be considered for the award. The award will be presented at the Health Law SPIG’s Annual Business Meeting. In order to be eligible for the award, the nominee must be available to attend this award presentation. The selected recipient will be notified in early October.
To join the Health Law SPIG, please contact APHA Member Services by phone (202-777-2400) or e-mail (membership.mail@apha.org).