Big Cities Health Coalition

09/09/2026

How can better data systems help us prevent overdose and save lives? We are honored to receive funding from the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) to help answer this question.

Over the next two years, we'll be working with our members – the largest city health departments in the U.S. – to build and improve integrated, timely overdose data systems that improve coordination, accelerate prevention and response activities, and support linkage to care for those affected by opioid and polysubstance use disorders.

Huge thanks to FORE for the support and partnership!

Learn more:

FORE is pleased to announce it is awarding nearly $1.82 million to three organizations that are working to improve how data on substance use disorders and overdose are collected, shared, and used by state and local health officials and communities. The three grants build on work FORE’s Innovation ...

09/03/2026

Overdose death rates are dropping across the US, including in big cities.

Thousands of family members, friends, and co-workers are still with us today, thanks in part to tireless work by health depts and their community partners.

And we still have so much work to do, because we are still losing too many, especially in neighborhoods that have been disinvested in for far too long.

Get the full story, and some inspiration for your community, at the link in the comments.

08/31/2026

On this International Overdose Awareness Day, we remember those we have lost and celebrate the hard work our members and partners are doing to save lives.

In our latest post, learn how these efforts by big city health departments and their community partners have begun to bring down overdose death rates. (Link in comments.)

08/14/2026

Hepatitis C is curable. So why do 40 Americans still die from it every day — and why are hundreds of thousands of patients still untreated?

That's the question the Common Health Coalition — of which BCHC is a proud member — is working to answer with a bold new $100 million initiative launched yesterday with the OpenAI Foundation.

The Breakthroughs to Follow-Through initiative will use AI-powered tools to help identify patients who have fallen through the cracks, connect them to care, and aim to at least double hepatitis C cure rates in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, and Massachusetts over the next two years — with more states to come.

The science is there. Now we build the systems to deliver it better.

08/10/2026

Over the next few weeks, millions of kids will head into kindergarten for the first time – backpacks on, excitement in full swing.

Dr. David Margolius, Cleveland's public health director and BCHC's chair-elect, writes in USA Today that those kids deserve to start the year protected.

Cleveland has made real progress, moving from 68% to 76% of kindergarteners meeting immunization requirements in just two years, by bringing free vaccines into neighborhoods and schools.

But nearly 1,000 Cleveland children are still unprotected, and the U.S. has seen more measles cases in the last 18 months than in the previous 25 years combined. Two children have died. Those deaths were preventable.

Cities are doing their part. It's time for Washington to do its part.

See the full op ed at the link in the comments.

Cleveland Department of Public Health

08/04/2026

Perfect example of how working with those who need health support the most benefits everyone 💞

07/30/2026

Being well-fed is one of the most basic conditions for good health. In Cleveland, the health department is treating it that way.

With CDC Public Health Infrastructure Grant funding, the Cleveland Department of Public Health brought on Zainab Pixler to treat food access as a foundation for health.

She started by listening to the whole city, then began collaborating with community partners to revive the beloved Summer Sprout community gardening program, help a neighborhood open its own cooperatively owned grocery, and get locally grown food into school cafeterias.

It's a model other cities can learn from — and a clear example of why this federal funding matters.

Get the full story at the link in the comments 👇

06/30/2026

Health departments are doing something you may not realize: they're the reason disease outbreaks don't become catastrophes, and they're the ones stepping in when no one else will.

In 2025, BCHC's member health departments served 62 million people – all while facing budget cuts, federal instability, and tough choices. But the work didn't stop. From keeping vaccination rates up to visiting thousands of homes to assess health needs, local health officials kept showing up.

Read our 2025 annual report to see the real work being done to keep your community safe. (Link in comments.)

06/29/2026

Sometimes there's no substitute for being there in person.

We recently introduced a professional development program where each staff member travels to spend a couple of days with one of our 36 member health departments.

Our communications director and the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District were our guinea pigs, and it was a great experience all around.

Elizabeth spent her two days shadowing the health department's director and comms director – watching city council members ask questions about the cross-agency community violence intervention program, learning daily operations and valuable stories from staff, visiting the immunization clinic and food and environmental safety teams on site, and even touring a 300-year-old mission and UNESCO World Heritage site to learn more about the tough but inspiring story of this community.

We love learning more about the brilliant on-the-ground work our members do every day to support their communities' health.

06/15/2026

Help us welcome Public Health - Seattle & King County's new Director and Health Officer, Sandra Valenciano, aka Dr. V! In this video, hear her talk about not just her extensive experience in public health, but also how she grew up receiving services from her local health department.