Jody Porter has been named senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where she will lead inpatient nursing and hospital-wide patient care programs. Porter had served as GBMC's vice president of nursing and chief nurse executive since 2002. She is a licensed registered nurse and earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania and a master's in business administration from DeSales University in Pennsylvania.

Susan Bowen has been named the administrative director of nursing for maternal and newborn health at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Bowen had previously served as clinical director of the Labor and Delivery Unit. Bowen, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Towson University, has more than 20 years' experience as a registered nurse.

Dr. Robert Blum, a pediatrician and expert on societal influences on the health of adolescents, has been named director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. Blum, who has been interim director since May 2006, will coordinate the efforts of the university and Johns Hopkins Health System, in collaboration with the community, to improve the health of residents of East Baltimore and other economically stressed parts of the city. Blum came to Johns Hopkins in 2004 from the University of Minnesota.