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Health Policy

ORAU is engaged in assessing the magnitude and extent of current public health policy issues. We provide health policy support to multiple agencies on various topics—from new models of healthcare delivery and finance to exposures and worker health. Our teams can provide expert opinions and guidance on existing policies or those in development. We can also research public and professional opinions to inform future policy, or review historical changes and significance to inform current policy and demonstrate the impacts of changes to policy.

Many times in our projects, the policy(ies) in question are under intense scrutiny by various stakeholders to assure that the science is correct and appropriate and that the needs of impacted individuals are met. This oversight results in a continuous analysis of what the most current science indicates for the specific policy being assessed or developed.

Our experts can assess compliance with policies, provide analyses of challenges or impacts, and offer recommendations to improve compliance or outcomes of health policies.

Impact Areas

Why choose ORAU?

ORAU has recognized national and international experts on a multitude of health topics available to support your agency’s needs. We can also convene external expert consultants to support peer review, expert analysis, and other inputs.

Three people talk in a large meeting area

Making America healthy again will take all of us: A conversation with Brenda Blunt, senior director of health policy

Brenda Blunt, ORAU senior director of health policy, is passionate about the connections between nutrition and both physical and mental health. As Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, rolls out his plan to Make America Healthy Again, much of the focus is on the role of better nutrition and its connection to health. Blunt was MAHA before it was cool, and often leans into the teachings of Florence Nightingale, who advocated for a holistic view of health that emphasized the importance of fresh air, clean water, efficient drainage, cleanliness of patients and care areas, and sunlight. In this conversation, Blunt and hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood discuss how we got to being one of the richest countries in the world and one of the least healthy, how we didn’t get here overnight, how government agencies can work together to help Americans make better choices, and how we can individually and collectively take steps to make ourselves and the country healthier.

Listen to the episode  Transcript (.DOCX)  Read the blog post

Brenda Blunt

Contact us

For information about ORAU’s public health and healthcare solutions, contact Freddy Gray at (865) 576-0029 or freddy.gray@orau.org.