Six jurisdictions join coalition to strengthen the future of big city public health

Six new jurisdictions, serving many of the largest U.S. cities, have joined the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC), a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of their residents.

Membership in BCHC gives these large, urban health departments a unique opportunity to work with their peers to address the country’s most pressing public health issues such as COVID-19, substance use disorder, fatal and non-fatal overdose, and gun violence prevention.

The new BCHC members are:

• El Paso (City of El Paso Department of Public Health), Texas
• Louisville (Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness), Kentucky
• Memphis (Shelby County Health Department), Tennessee
• Milwaukee (City of Milwaukee Health Department), Wisconsin
• Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City-County Health Department), Oklahoma
• Tucson (Pima County Health Department), Arizona

The addition of these six cities brings BCHC’s total membership to 35. These health departments serve more than 61 million people, or about 1 in 5 Americans. “I can speak to the value of BCHC facilitating strong relationships with my peers,” said Mysheika Roberts, MD, MPH, Columbus Health Commissioner and Chair of BCHC. “Their knowledge, coupled with the BCHC dedicated staff who support not only our collective challenges, but also local efforts to build healthier communities, is how we continue to make positive change.”

“I am so thrilled to add these big city health leaders to BCHC,” said Chrissie Juliano, MPP, BCHC Executive Director. “I know they are working hard to promote and protect the public’s health in their communities, and we all look forward to engaging with and learning from them.”

Coalition Also Expands Staff

BCHC also recently expanded its senior staff to continue to address COVID-19 response and recovery, a host of health equity issues such as structural racism, and our expanded membership.

• Lonias Gilmore, MPH, is BCHC’s new Director of Health Equity and Social Justice. Gilmore has more than 10 years of experience building partnerships to improve public health and leading policy, systems, and environmental change to improve health and education outcomes and advance health and racial equity.
• Elizabeth Green, PhD, is BCHC’s new Communications Director. Green taught history and feminist studies for 13 years before transitioning to a communications career, with a focus on public health and equity issues. Before joining BCHC she led a substance use prevention team at Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission.

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About the Big Cities Health Coalition 
The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of their residents. Collectively, BCHC member jurisdictions directly impact more than 61 million people, or one in five Americans. For more information, visit bigcitieshealth.org.