Madeline Duffy

Across the United States, cities, states, and counties are rapidly adopting paid sick leave laws. Paid sick leave policies for restaurant workers may be particularly beneficial, since these workers are less likely to have these benefits and have the potential to spread infection through food-handling and engagement with the public. In order for paid sick leave laws to work, workers and employers must be educated about these laws broadly and effectively. Focusing on New York City, we conducted a pilot research using key stakeholder interviews to learn about New York City's successes and challenges in educating workers and businesses about the law. Our findings indicate several lessons learned, including allocating sufficient funding, combined use of coalition building and organizing models, and attention to the needs of immigrant restaurant workers. Findings also suggest that greater attention should be paid to proactively addressing workplace organization and practices that thwart paid sick leave use.

Across the United States health systems are recognizing the urgency of addressing the social determinants of health in order to improve population health. Wellness trusts, modeled after financial trusts support primary health prevention in community settings, provide an innovative opportunity for better community-clinical linkages, collaboration, and impact. This study aimed to understand the necessary tenets for a wellness trust in Brooklyn, New York (USA) and examined community interest and political will; administrative, financing, and leadership structures; and metrics and data sources to monitor and assess impact. We employed a multi-method design. Key informant interviews (KIIs) (n = 15) were conducted from 7/2016 to 1/2017. A content analysis of grey literature was used to analyze community interest and political will (n = 38). Extant datasets, such as New York City Community District profiles, were reviewed, and a narrative review was used to assess cost-effectiveness of prevention interventions (n = 33). The KIIs and grey literature underwent thematic analysis. Findings indicated healthcare issues dominated the health agenda despite recognition of social determinants of health. Braided funding (discrete funds that are coordinated but tracked separately) and blended funding (funds pooled from multiple sources tracked together) are common funding mechanisms. Robust data systems exist to assess impact. Indicators should address social determinants, performance and impact, be measurable, geographically specific, and include communities. Wellness trusts should be sustainable, engage communities, foster collaboration, and have adequate capacity. The Collective Impact Framework, a mechanism to coordinate and maximize efforts, offers this organizational structure. Wellness trusts are promising mechanisms to advance population health.

The painting of Robert, Calvin, Martha, and William Scott, and Mila (known as The Children of Reverend William Anderson Scott) is not just a family heirloom or a portrayal of Reverend William Scott’s four children and their caretaker, Mila. On the contrary, nearly two hundred years after it was painted, The Children of Reverend Scott functions today as a historical document in that analysis of it records the contemporary roles and status of children, parents, and slaves in nineteenth-century Southern life. This paper explores the personal convictions of Reverend Scott as recorded in the portrait—namely his roles as a father, minister, and southern slave-owner—using his personal papers and historical records local to New Orleans and San Francisco for further context and evidence.