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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH

@stephenwpatrick.bsky.social

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Nov 16

Excited to be on #Bluesky. I'm Chair of the Dept of Health Policy & Management @emoryrollins.bsky.social & a neonatologist Children's ATL.

We moved to #Atlanta about 6 months ago from Nashville. Here's a bit of my story. Look forward to connecting.

publichealthmagazine.emory.edu/issues/2024/...

Bridging Patient Care, Polling, and Policy | Emory University | Atlanta GA

publichealthmagazine.emory.edu

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · Sep 9

Vaccinating babies at birth has reduced hepatitis B infections by 99 percent. Is RFK’s new CDC committee about to stop recommending it?
share.google/9e3BTpcrGKSY...

Newborn hepatitis B vaccine under fire as RFK Jr. and GOP Senators question immunization

The CDC's vaccine advisory panel is set to discuss and possibly vote on the vaccine at a meeting next week.

share.google

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Rollins School of Public Health @emoryrollins.bsky.social · Aug 6

The new Emory-Rollins National Child Policy Poll reveals how U.S. adults view recent federal actions and proposals that affect children's health.

"Cuts to critical public health programs that serve the nation’s children are unpopular across the political spectrum.” - @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social

Poll: Americans Largely Don't Support Federal Changes to Child Health Programs

A new national survey from Rollins School of Public Health revealed how American adults view recent federal actions and proposals that affect children's health and nutrition.

sph.emory.edu

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Reposted by Rita Rubin, Stephen W. Patrick

JAMA @jama.com · May 16

The White House's 2026 budget proposal recommends eliminating the Health Resources and Services Administration and cutting rural health funding by 25%, posing a threat to health care access and services in rural areas.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Federal Funds for Rural Health Care May Be Cut

This Medical News article discusses the impact that proposed federal funding cuts for rural health care programs would have on individuals and their communities.

jamanetwork.com

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · Jul 20

Oh goodness. This is study is a sobering evaluation of parents’ and pregnant women’s vaccination intention (with the caveat that intent is not always equivalent to behavior).

We have so, so much work to do.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Vaccination Intentions During Pregnancy and Among Parents of Young Children

This survey study of pregnant persons and parents of young children in the US examines vaccination intentions during pregnancy and vaccination behaviors after the child's birth for vaccines recommende...

jamanetwork.com

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Joan Alker @joanalker1.bsky.social · Jul 17

👀In the name of “protecting vulnerable Americans” the Trump Administration will rip away Medicaid coverage from babies and toddlers👀

CMS announces Medicaid demos that 8 states are implementing to cover babies and young children continuously w/o gaps due to red tape will no longer be allowed.

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Jul 5

#bigbeautifulbill #snap #medicaid

Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Jul 5

We have to remember too, that must state budgets must be balanced. So when there's a budget crisis, what do they do? They cut programs. It could be SNAP and Medicaid, but it could also spill over to education and roads.

Following the funds flow over the next few years is going to be important.

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Jul 5

They push new work requirements onto states which they must implement.

For states like West Virginia (my home state) and Kentucky, this is going to have a profound impact on state budgets and ultimately the people in the state.

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Jul 5

One issue that I haven't heard as much attention paid to as it deserves regarding the Big Beautiful Bill is the effect on states - especially poor red Medicaid expansion states.

Changes to Medicaid and SNAP in the bill push a lot onto states. They make states far more responsible for costs.

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Reposted by Megan L. Ranney, Stephen W. Patrick

Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · Jun 30

A sobering story about the price of vaccines in the current US health system for those who are under-insured.

And a cautionary tale for the future, should the government & insurers stop covering this essential part of preventive care.

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...

A Texas boy needed protection from measles. The vaccine cost $1,400.

Due to the ongoing U.S. measles outbreak, a Texas man worried that his young son was at risk and took him to get vaccinated. The cost of the shot? $1,400.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · Jun 7

“Still, repealing the clean energy tax credits would threaten billions of dollars’ worth of economic investment. In Georgia alone, there have been more than $23.9 billion in new clean energy investments and more than 32,000 new jobs created since the law took effect”

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/c...

In Georgia, Republicans Vote to Kill Green Jobs but Face Little Fallout

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · Jun 2

My mom, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2000, passed away Friday at the age of 93. She took a chemo regimen called R-CHOP, which allowed her to celebrate 5 more birthdays and hold her great-grandchild. Thank you to scientists giving us those extra years with her. #ThanksNIH

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · May 29

The NOTUS reporters said they spent five days (!) going through the 522 citations in the report.

How did you get the idea to look through citations in the first place?
Margaret Manto: I got a tip over the weekend that there was some fishy stuff in the MAHA report citations. I started checking that they were real but figured out pretty quickly that I'd have to look at all 522 citations to know for sure.
522 citations! How long did it take, and what did you find?
Margaret: Emily and I took about five days to go through all of the citations.
Emily Kennard: We didn't have full access to every article, so we were mostly confirming that the bibliographic information was correct. But we pretty quickly found a handful of articles that we couldn't find anywhere through search engines or in the listed journals, so we decided to go through and check each one. It took a few full workdays to pore over a spreadsheet and to reach out to cited researchers.

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Patrick Hickey, MD @pwhickey.bsky.social · May 28

“What is clear is that pregnant women, infants and young children are at higher risk of hospitalization from COVID, and the safety of the COVID vaccine has been widely demonstrated.”

publications.aap.org/aapnews/news...

AAP: Removal of COVID vaccines from immunization schedules for healthy children, pregnant people disregards process, increases risk

AAP experts say the move may leave families without the ability to decide whether to get a vaccine for their children. It is unclear how the change will impact insurance coverage.

publications.aap.org

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Reposted by Steffanie A. Strathdee, Stephen W. Patrick, Nicole E. Basta

NPR @npr.org · May 21

Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn't warning the public like it was months ago

Some of the CDC's main channels for communicating urgent health information to the public have gone silent.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · May 17

Reminded of a story that @hannahnatanson.bsky.social + I did in early April about how DOGE’s cuts were inevitably creating new risks for Americans — including risks related to severe weather

Many said that the moves reflect a shifting of risk from the federal government to states and cities that have more limited resources to prepare for natural disasters, public health crises and other threats. They also predicted the cuts would place new burdens on average Americans, who might be faced with more uncertainty in their food supply - or less warning of a tornado or hurricane bearing down on them.
NOAA
WILL NOT
GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in March outside NOAA's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, to protest
DOGE cuts. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Lives are at risk," said Mary Glackin, who spent 35 years at NOAA, including serving as the agency's top career official under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. She pointed to delays on NOAA contracts to maintain radar systems, reductions in the launches of weather balloons and other pressures on her former agency as staffing shrinks. "It's a mess ... if this continues, people will die from this, I'm sorry to say," Glackin said.

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Alexander Tin @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social · May 16

A new CDC study estimates hundreds of drowning deaths could be prevented by more pool fences & life jackets while boating

It was one of last authored by agency's injury prevention researchers, before Secy Kennedy's layoffs largely eliminated them

www.cbsnews.com/news/pool-fe...

Pool fences and life jackets could save hundreds of lives, CDC estimates

The study was one of the CDC's last before its injury prevention teams were laid off.

www.cbsnews.com

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Reposted by Kai Chen, Rita Hamad, Stephen W. Patrick

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 15

All NIH and NSF grants for my entire team--and for all of Harvard, I guess?--have been terminated.

As provocative as that sounds, the practical effect is probably not much. Everything was already frozen. 🤷‍♂️

On the upside, it makes tracking terminated grants easier. No more guesswork at Harvard!

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 14

Cavities are common for kids. This is not a move supported by data.

NBC News @nbcnews.com · May 13

The FDA announces it will begin the process of pulling prescription fluoride drops and tablets for children off the market. The supplements are usually given to kids at high risk for cavities.

Fluoride drops and tablets for kids should be taken off the market, FDA says

Despite decades of evidence that fluoride prevents cavities, the agency said the best way to keep kids' teeth strong is to stop eating so much sugar.

nbcnews.to

Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 14

Congrats!!

Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

NBC News @nbcnews.com · May 13

The FDA announces it will begin the process of pulling prescription fluoride drops and tablets for children off the market. The supplements are usually given to kids at high risk for cavities.

Fluoride drops and tablets for kids should be taken off the market, FDA says

Despite decades of evidence that fluoride prevents cavities, the agency said the best way to keep kids' teeth strong is to stop eating so much sugar.

nbcnews.to

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

Quinn Eastman @qeastman.bsky.social · May 12

Bravo @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social and colleagues @emoryrollins.bsky.social for surveying Georgia parents' attitudes toward #vaccines (and many other family health topics) -- thanks @rgrapevine.bsky.social www.healthbeat.org/atlanta/2025...

Most Georgia parents believe vaccines are safe, according to Emory survey

A recent Emory survey on what Georgia parents think about the well-being of their children found that most believe childhood vaccines are safe. However, school quality, bullying and social media are a...

www.healthbeat.org

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Reposted by Rishi K. Wadhera, Stephen W. Patrick

JAMA @jama.com · May 12

After the end of emergency allotments, there were increases in food insecurity and poor physical health days among SNAP participants.

ja.ma/43dp8ZN @rkwadhera.bsky.social

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 9

Thoughtful insights from HPM's Ilana Graetz on the impact of recent cuts to HHS.

“These delays affect not only research institutions and investigators but also critical training programs for the next generation of public health and medical leaders.”

www.healthline.com/health-news/...

19 States, D.C. Sue Trump Administration Over HHS Layoffs

Attorneys general in 19 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's plans to significantly reduce staffing at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),...

www.healthline.com

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Reposted by Stephen W. Patrick

UNICEF @unicef.org · May 9

Children pay the highest price in war and violence.

#ForEveryChild, peace and protection.

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 8

These numbers aren’t just stats. They’re a call to action.
We can—and must—do better for Georgia’s kids.
Let’s make Georgia the best place to be a kid.
#PolicyMatters #HealthEquity #Georgia

www.wsbtv.com/news/local/a...

Emory study shows parents’ concerns about their child’s safety, mental health, and more

Researchers are asking Georgia parents about their top concerns about issues like schools and school safety, mental health and suicide concerns, bullying and more.

www.wsbtv.com

Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 8

Some key findings:
• 1 in 3 households with children in Georgia face food insecurity
• 63% of kids diagnosed with mental health conditions aren’t getting care
• 13% of kids with Medicaid lost coverage last year
• 60% of parents think schools are less safe than 10 years ago
#Medicaid #MentalHealth

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 8

🚨 New Report Out This Week
We just released The State of Child Health and Well-being in Georgia 2025 — the first statewide snapshot of what families are facing, based on nearly 1,000 parent voices.
📄 [Insert link]
#GeorgiaKids #PublicHealth #ChildHealth

sph.emory.edu/news/news-re...

New Survey Reveals Top Health Concerns Among Georgia Parents | Rollins School of Public Health | Emory University | Atlanta GA

Georgia parents ranked education and school quality as their most urgent concern. Social media and bullying closely followed.

sph.emory.edu

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Reposted by James P. Collins, Linda R. Tropp, Erika Franklin Fowler , and 3 more James P. Collins, Linda R. Tropp, Erika Franklin Fowler, Mary Rice, J. Warner, Stephen W. Patrick

NPR @npr.org · May 6

Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.

Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds

Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.

www.npr.org

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Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social · May 4

🚨 New report drops Tuesday: The State of Child Health and Well-being in Georgia 2025.

From mental health to economic hardship, the data show where Georgia kids are struggling—and where there’s hope.

Let’s make Georgia the best place to be a kid. #ChildHealth #GeorgiaKids #DataToAction