A Message from the Editor In February of this year, the managing editor of Public Health Reports (PHR), Julie Keefe, announced that, after 14 years of service to the journal, she was departing federal service to take what she called her “dream job” in Taos, New Mexico. Julie had visited Taos many times over the years and it has become a place that she loves. When she was offered a position as general manager of the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, an historic inn and conference center, it was an opportunity she had to take. As I learned more about the Luhan House, I could see how this truly was an offer Julie could not refuse. The house has been a center for the arts in Taos for more than 100 years. Some of the greatest artists of the 20th century have stayed there and were inspired by it, including Georgia O’Keeffe, D.H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams, and Martha Graham. Not long after Julie left Cincinnati to start her new position in Taos, she wrote to me, “[It’s] a whole new world! . . . I met the granddaughter of Ansel Adams on my second day at work. So many fascinating guests! You never know what surprises the house has up its sleeve each day.” All of us who worked with Julie miss her day-to-day contributions to PHR, her historical knowledge of the journal, her dedication, expertise, and hard work, and her sense of humor. Recently, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General, recognized Julie’s work by presenting her with an award for her lasting contributions to the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) and PHR. We at PHR thank her for her years of service and wish her all the best in her new role. Readers of this issue of PHR will see a Surgeon General’s Perspectives in which Dr. Murthy announces my appointment as the journal’s editor in chief under a new arrangement between OSG and CDC’s Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS). Under the arrangement, a CDC medical officer or senior scientist will serve as the editor in chief of PHR. OSG and CSELS expect that the new agreement will provide the journal with strong edito-

rial leadership into the future. I am very pleased to serve and continue the work that I began last year as acting editor. In this issue of PHR, we bring you a wide variety of articles, including a key report and commentary on the new U.S. Public Health Service recommendation for the fluoridation of drinking water. The new recommendation, published online ahead of print by PHR on April 27, 2015, represents the first revision of these recommendations since 1962. The recommendation is accompanied by a Surgeon General’s Perspectives column on fluoridation by Dr. Murthy and a research article on water intake among children. This issue of PHR also contains a statement from the National Vaccine Advisory Committee on efforts to better implement interstate data exchange by immunization information systems and an accompanying commentary from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. An Executive Perspective article highlights the latest thinking of CDC leaders on reducing heart disease and stroke in the U.S. population through the prevention and control of hypertension. A special report in this issue takes readers inside CDC’s early response to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Other articles cover drug overdose deaths, U.S. cancer rates, implications of the Affordable Care Act for tuberculosis control, the prevalence of dental caries, teen birth rates in Chicago, disease risk from urban poultry raising, and sexual relationships in young, rural African American men. Our Law and the Public’s Health column discusses the regulation of information technology in behavioral health. And contributions to our From the Schools and Programs of Public Health column touch on corner store conversion to improve the food environment, and advising undergraduate students in public health. As always, we welcome your input. If you have ideas or suggestions for PHR, please write to me at fshaw @cdc.gov.

Public Health Reports  /  July–August 2015 / Volume 130

Frederic E. Shaw, MD, JD Editor in Chief

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