Pitt Public Health Magazine

Spring 2026

How do we reach our rural neighbors?

Reaching out

Rural life has an almost mythological place for many in 21st-century America. But for those who live there, the challenges of making sure they and their families stay healthy, safe and secure are very real. Pictured here are Pitt Public Health students, faculty, alumni and staff working in rural communities to improve air quality monitoring (upper right) and in places like East Palestine, Ohio (upper left and middle left), central Pennsylvania (middle right) and the South American country of Suriname (lower left and right).

_{Photos: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar; Mark Dixon; Pitt Public Health}

Message from the Dean

"This issue of Pitt Public Health magazine focuses on the challenges to health services faced by rural communities. It's something that's especially close to my heart. When I first came to the U.S. decades ago, I couldn't help but see the similarities in terms of access to care, education and just general health that existed between rural communities and lower- and middle-income countries like my native Suriname. It was those disparities that really cemented my commitment to a career in public health."

A Commitment to Public Health

Grid with Text (Y) Item: Dean Maureen Lichtveld

wide shot of farm with gps marker on the home and a long routh leading off screen

In-Depth

Rural Reality

People should have the resources they need to live healthier lives in all the places they call home.

Rural Reality

Features

ambulance on rural road fading away from the top

When Ambulances Disappear

Spotlight

Communities across the United States are losing ambulance services—and the lifesaving care they provide.

When Ambulances Disappear

Teething Pain

Spotlight

Since 2000, the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia has made important contributions to dental public health in rural areas.

Teething Pain

Maggie's Way

Profile

There is simply no one quite like Margaret C. "Maggie" McDonald.

Maggie's Way

Crossing Cultures

Spotlight

A special study abroad program helps students learn about the connections between environment and public health.

Crossing Cultures

Applying Herself

Profile

Alumna Samantha Hernandez practices applied epidemiology during a two-year fellowship in Chicago.

Applying Herself

Student presenting a poster in the public health commons

Practice Makes Perfect

Spotlight

The Center for Public Health Practice convenes researchers, students and community members as equal partners to create meaningful change.

Practice Makes Perfect

Briefly

Department News

Staff Spotlight

Noteworthy

Passings

Class Notes

Radke Profile

Harvest and Hardship

students walking in front of the dormitory in the 1970s

Another Look:

Pitt-Bradford's first class of students entered former Bradford Hospital dormitory space that had been renovated into classrooms, labs and a library on Sept. 3, 1963. By the early 1970s, Pitt-Bradford was constructing a new campus and moving its academic focus from two- to four-year programming. To learn more about Pitt Public Health connections to Pitt-Bradford, see our cover story, Rural Reality.

Past Issues

IMPACT newsletter

The Expanse newsletter

All News

Pitt Public Health Magazine

Correspondence

Share your thoughts with Pitt Public Health at phmag@pitt.edu.

Pitt Public Health is published by the Office of the Dean, School of Public Health. It is produced twice a year for alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of Pitt Public Health.

The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.

Executive Editor

Michele Dula Baum, Senior Science Communications Manager

Editors

Jeanine Buchanich, PhD, MEd, MPH, Vice Dean, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Health Data Science
Clare Collins, MA, MEd, Director of Marketing and Communications

Contributors, Editorial Advisory Board, etc.

Communications Team

Amber Curtaccio, Content Manager
Ava Dzurenda, MA, Communications Specialist
Caitlin McCullough, Web Content Manager
Jill Ruempler, Events Manager

Contributors

Donald S. Burke, MD, Dean Emeritus
Mike Friend, MS, Communications Specialist, Department of Health Policy and Management

Design

Landesberg Design

Photography

Photos courtesy of the School of Public Health unless otherwise noted.

Editorial Advisory Board

Cindy Bryce, PhD
Lourdes Cano, JD
Berthony Deslouches, MD, PhD
Julie M. Donohue, PhD
Tamara Dubowitz, ScD, SM, MSc
Calvin Dziewulski
Mike Friend, MS
Catherine Haggerty, PhD, MPH
Mary Hawk, DrPH
Mara Leff Koperwas, PhD, MPH
Suresh Kuchipudi, PhD, MVSc, MBA
Yan Ma, PhD
Cynthia McCarthy, DHCE, MA
Tina Ndoh, PhD
Quasar Padiath, MBBS, PhD
Elaine Vitone
Sally Wenzel, MD

Web Layout

Caitlin McCullough