James Hodge

An article by James Hodge ASU Lincoln Professor of Health Law and Ethics, and Director of Public Health Law and Policy Program, made the Top Ten downloaded list for HEN: Labor & Workforce (Topic) on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) on Dec. 30, 2010.

The article was titled, “The Legal Framework for Meeting Surge Capacity Through the Use of Volunteer Health Professionals During Public Health Emergencies and Other Disasters.”

Hodge, who is also the Director of the Public Health Law Network- Western Region and Faculty Fellow at Center for Law, Science & Innovation, discusses the legal context volunteer health professionals find themselves in during public health emergencies. He makes recommendations of how to increase the availability of volunteer health professionals during disasters.

From its abstract: “First, states should incorporate advance registration systems and protections for volunteers into laws that authorize emergency preparedness and response efforts. These laws should explicitly define the powers of state government during emergencies and clarify the legal provisions applicable to VHPs and the entities or organizations that may rely on them. Second, a floor of legal protections for volunteers is essential to achieve a minimum level of uniformity among the states and facilitate multi-jurisdictional cooperation in emergency response. Third, the scope and breadth of state based volunteer registries must be expanded to ensure comprehensive and coordinated emergency response efforts among states.”

To read the abstract, click here.

Through scholarly and applied work, Hodge delves into multiple areas of public health law, global health law, ethics, and human rights. Hodge teaches Health Law, Ethics, and Policy, Public Health Law and Ethics and Global Health Law and Policy at the College of Law. In September 2010, he was named Director of the Public Health Law Network - Western Region. Hodge also is an affiliated faculty member in the Global Health program in the School of Human Evolution & Social Change at ASU.