This month’s selection is reflective of changes in health policy on a federal level and the challenges our patients face locally regarding poverty trends, homelessness and other socio-economic issues. The city’s mayoral race is also pushing some of these topics to the forefront of news coverage.

Recent reports of a passenger with measles aboard an Amtrak train traveling through Penn Station on its way to Washington, D.C., evoked scenes from pandemic thrillers like Contagion. The idea of one infected individual unknowingly spreading disease to countless others might seem dramatic—but in today’s highly interconnected world, it’s an increasingly realistic scenario.