We continue our series Voices from the Field: Meeting This Moment in Public Health in which we lift the voices of public health professionals reflecting on the realities we’re facing today – and the lessons learned across the arc of their careers.
Public health professional Maya Nussenzweig shares a vivid personal account of battling a roach infestation that exposes the deep cracks in New York City’s housing and public health systems. Her experience highlights how everyday living conditions can quickly escalate into public health crises, reminding us that the work of public health is inseparable from the places we call home.
If you’d like to follow Maya’s lead and share your own perspective on public health in these times, I’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch!
Dispatches from the Roach Motel: A New Yorker’s Tale of Public Health
By Maya Nussenzweig, MPH
There’s an unofficial tax that comes with living in New York City that the glossy real estate ads don’t talk about: vermin infestations. If you’re lucky, you might encounter one or two roaches a year, usually only during seasonal changes, a move, or nearby construction. But for some residents, the problem runs much deeper…