CNEPS

defending public health in 2025

With the current threats to vaccinations, public health and healthcare access, physicians, scientists and healthcare workers are mobilizing on behalf of their patients and families.

Defend Public Health is an all-volunteer network of public health researchers, healthcare workers, advocates and allies fighting to protect the health of all people,. They are rooted in the belief that everyone has the right to what they need for a healthy life, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.

In Pennsylvania, PhillyHealth Cares is dedicated to eliminating barriers to healthcare through advocacy, education, and awareness – empowering patients and clinicians alike, guided by the belief that healthcare is a human right.

We will continue to update this page with allies working to keep Pennsylvanians healthy and informed because healthcare should not be a partisan issue.

About Us

When family members and colleagues didn’t have adequate PPE in March of 2020, our founding members started working on ways to change that. Those efforts grew into the Community Network for Epidemic Preparedness and Support (CNEPS). We soon began to see many common interests and recurring themes as well as gaps in a variety of systems: health care, mental health, education and systemic racism emerged at the top of the list. CNEPS has been formed as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and we are in the process of applying for confirmation of its status as a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3). Through a broad array of disciplines, we are supporting the response to COVID-19 in healthcare settings and the community.

Our board is comprised of physicians, engineers, manufacturers, public health experts, and historians in global health. Our mission is to systematically bolster essential healthcare human resources in an effort to protect healthcare workers and the community during infectious disease epidemics.

We continue to seek equitable and sustainable solutions to keep healthcare workers and vulnerable community members safe with a systemic approach to safety, health and mental health support (Emotional PPE). Since March 2020, we have been working toward our mission during the initial and subsequent COVID-19 surges.