26 Catching up with past leaders Updates from some of the more than 70 health leaders who have been interviewed by Healthy NewsWorks student journalists in earlier years for the Leading Healthy Change In Our Communities book series. Karen Hudson 2016 Health Leader Karen Hudson, Ph.D., is program leader of the Homeless Health Initiative at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). In 2018, Dr. Karen Hudson and her team are bringing medical care to more children in homeless shelters than they did in 2016. That’s because her program has expanded. Doctors, nurses, dentists, and other healthcare professionals now visit children in four Phila- delphia homeless shelters instead of three. “We did this to help more people experiencing homelessness,” Dr. Hudson says. Like all children, those in shelters need regular health check-ups. Dr. Hudson and her leadership team at the Homeless Health Initiative oversee CHOP volunteers who visit shelters to care for children who are sick or need medical guidance or referrals. Dr. Hudson has also been encouraging home- less shelters to permit fathers to live there with their children. Many shelters haven’t allowed that. Fathers are important to the health and well-being of their children, especially while they live in a shelter, Dr. Hudson says. She and her team are working with Philadelphia city officials on this effort. When asked what has changed about home- lessness in the past few years, Dr. Hudson says she is seeing more teenagers without a home. A positive development: There are fewer families experiencing homelessness. In the past two years, Dr. Hudson achieved a personal milestone. She completed her Ph.D. in public health. A Ph.D.—also known as a doctorate—is a top educational degree. That’s why she now uses “Dr.” before her name. Dr. Hudson is as committed to her work as she has ever been. “I don’t do the work for the money,” she says. “It’s just the right thing to do.” —By Healthy Reporter staff Whitehall Elementary School