We live in one of the most developed countries in the world but our healthcare system does not meet the needs of all Pennsylvanians. We have high maternal mortality rates, large amounts of people uninsured, individuals with immense medical debt and ultimately a system that puts profits above people—this system is not serving the needs of all people. 

I truly understand the hardships and issues of our healthcare system and have seen them firsthand when I was uninsured for a while as well when I worked within the public health and social work spaces. Our public health systems were failed and overlooked for years and it wasn’t until the global COVID pandemic in 2020 that we realized our mistakes. We now have a chance to fix this, to prepare like we hadn’t, to invest in public health education, to implement public health programming that puts primary prevention at the cornerstone. 

We are at a pivotal time in the history of our country and PA is no exception to that. Reproductive rights are under attack and we must work to codify abortion rights to ensure a women’s right to choose is only between them and their doctor. 

As a public health social worker I have seen so many of our systems failing on a daily basis. Our mental health care is lacking and needs serious improvements as we treat individuals with dignity and respect regardless of diagnosis and shift away from institutionalization and towards fully embracing community mental health programming. As a passionate advocate for public health I vow to make it a cornerstone of all my work by: