Frederick County Health Department’s Director of Behavioral Health Services, Andrea Walker, was awarded The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2017 American Health Initiative Fellowship for her work regarding addiction and overdoses.

As announced by the fellowship program:

As the director of Behavioral Health Services for Frederick County, Walker oversees prevention programs and clinical services in a county that includes suburban and rural areas. In recent years, her role has begun to shift as the division she oversees moves from being strictly a direct service provider to also serving as the Local Addiction Authority. She oversees a staff of 85, only one of whom has an MPH degree. The Bloomberg Fellowship will better equip Walker to utilize data to survey community needs and develop comprehensive plans and programs to address addiction and overdose in her county, and will prepare her to launch a syringe exchange program.

The Frederick County Health Department provides public health services to a population of about 250,000. Like its counterparts around the country, the department is on the front lines of addressing the opioid crisis, and will be a key partner for the Bloomberg American Health Initiative in its work to find and promote innovative strategies for progress.

The website notes that the Bloomberg American Health Initiative was established by a $300 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies. In partnership with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the initiative seeks to establish a network of public health practitioners, organizations and researchers to explore and progress in five priority areas: addiction and overdose, violence, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, and risks to adolescent health.

For more information visit Bloomberg’s American Health Initiative.