Megan Sandel, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine
Dr. Megan Sandel is the National Medical Director with the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. In 1998, she was the first medical director of the Family Advocacy Program. Dr. Sandel is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine, the Director of Pediatric Healthcare for the Homeless at Boston Medical Center, and a nationally recognized expert on housing and child health. She served as a general academic fellow at Boston Medical Center with a concentration in environmental health in children, earning a Masters of Public Health with a dual concentration in environmental health and epidemiology and biostatistics in 2002.
In 1998, she published, with other doctors at Boston Medical Center, the DOC4Kids report, a national report on how housing affected child health. In 1999, she followed as an author on “There's No Place Like Home”, a second report documenting how asthma, lead, injuries, homelessness, food insecurity, chronic disease and educational attainment were all affected by housing. In 2000, she was a co-Principal Investigator of the Boston Healthy Homes Partnership, a grant from Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Boston Public Health Commission, to study if housing changes improved the health of children with asthma. Dr. Sandel is a founding member of the Asthma Regional Council of New England.
Assistance in navigating our legal system is sometimes all it takes to prevent individuals and their families from making repeated trips to the doctor or hospital for a reoccurring condition. MLPs help people obtain legal aid necessary to ensure that they receive the care and benefits they deserve, to lead healthier lives and to avoid future injuries and illnesses. Through making investments in MLPs, we also save money by addressing preventable health conditions. It is my hope that we can get the support needed in Congress for this important service.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee
