Archives: <span>Courses</span>

Skills and Strategies for Where the Puck Is Going —Wait, Is It Even Still a Puck?

The future of the public health field is uncertain, and that will continue to be true. Workforce development will play a critical role in preparing in an uncertain and constantly evolving environment. Cuts to budget health and turnover are likely to continue. It’s more important than ever that staff have strategic skills, many of which were identified several years ago by the National Consortium for Workforce Development. In particular, skills in change management and persuasive communication have grown in importance. The de Beaumont Foundation is partnering with other public health leaders and practitioners to develop several tools to equip the workforce, including a project to identify the appropriate ratio of public health staff for communities and new tools for effective communication with community partners the public. Health agencies should carefully consider how they’re using their training dollars to ensure that they are building resilient and sustainable skills.

Learning Objectives

  • Gain insights about the current and future needs of the public health workforce.
  • Learn which strategic skills are particularly valuable in an environment where change is the norm.
  • Get access to practical tools that can help build skills.

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration:  ~ 30 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Brian Castrucci

Brian Castrucci is a disruptor, instigator, and fierce advocate for public health. Inside Philanthropy once described him as a “fount of knowledge and passion when it comes to health” who speaks with “sound-bite-perfect urgency” on the social determinants of health. Over the past eight years, Brian has helped build the de Beaumont Foundation into a national powerhouse in public health philanthropy and advocacy. He now serves as the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer. An award-winning epidemiologist with 10 years of experience in state and local health departments, Brian brings a unique background that allows him to shape and implement visionary and practical initiatives and partnerships that bring together research and practice to improve public health. Under his leadership, the de Beaumont Foundation is driving change to improve population health, foster collaboration between public health and other sectors, and strengthen the nation’s public health infrastructure. CityHealth, the BUILD Health Challenge, and the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey are among the national projects he has helped create while at the Foundation.

The Future of Telemedicine in Public Health

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the delivery of healthcare. Providers and patients have experienced in a very short amount of time some of the greatest changes to the healthcare system ever seen. Those who were reluctant to embrace telehealth prior to COVID found themselves obliged to implement it often just to stay in business. The rapid utilization of telemedicine was enabled by equally rapid changes in regulations and waivers for billing. This talk will summarize where we might be going with telemedicine post-COVID, especially in the public health arena. In particular, the focus will be on how to transition from a rapidly implemented program using readily available platforms to more sustainable long-term use of telemedicine integrated in usual practice. Resources available to help with this transition will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the key aspects of the status of COVID-related telehealth regulations and waivers.
  • Appreciate the broader role of mHealth, apps, sensors, and remote monitoring post COVID.
  • Learn about ways to transition the use of telehealth into traditional practice models
  • Know where to look for resources and technical assistance with telemedicine questions.

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration: ~ 35 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Elizabeth A. Krupinski, PhD

Dr. Krupinski is Professor and Vice-Chair for Research at Emory University in the Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences and subject matter expert for the Emory Telehealth Program. She received her BA from Cornell, MA from Montclair State, and Ph.D. from Temple, all in Experimental Psychology. Her interests are in medical image perception, observer performance, decision making, and human factors. She is the Associate Director of Evaluation for the Arizona Telemedicine Program and co-Director of the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center. She is Past President of ATA, Past Chair of Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine, Past Chair of the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference, and President of the Medical Image Perception Society. She is Co-Editor of the Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare and on the Editorial Board of the Telemedicine & E-Health Journal.

How COVID-19 Has Exposed Society’s Failures to Protect Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed what public health workers have known for years: We, as a society, have failed to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy. In his keynote, Dr. Levy will discuss the ways in which COVID-19 has revealed society’s failures to protect public health and describe strategies to address these failures to strengthen public health. 

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify at least five ways in which COVID-19 has revealed society’s failures to protect public health 
  • Describe at least three ways to strengthen public health. 

Target Audience:  Public Health Professionals

Duration:  ~ 27 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based Training, Self-Study

Created/ Updated: 8/2020

Presenter: Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H.

Barry Levy is a physician and epidemiologist who has worked in public health for more than 40 years. He is a graduate of Tufts College, Cornell Medical College, and the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed residencies in internal medicine and preventive medicine. Dr. Levy has served as a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and a director of international programs and projects. For many years, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has written more than 200 papers and book chapters and has edited 20books on occupational and environmental health, climate change, social injustice, and the impacts of war and terrorism on public health. He has served as president of the American Public Health Association and received its Sedgwick Memorial Medal.


Keeping Equity at the Forefront: How Local Health Departments can Help Create the New Normal

Berkeley Media Studies Group studies how the media portrays public health issues and supports public health practitioners, advocates, community groups, youth leaders, and others interested in shifting the public debate on health and social justice issues. COVID-19 creates unprecedented communication challenges for public health and creates opportunities to speak powerfully about the need to create a new normal, that is equitable, inclusive, and offers everyone the opportunity to be healthy. This session will focus on resources that help public health practitioners communicate more effectively about COVID-19 as it intersects with other important health issues so we can shape the debate and create a new normal that centers racial and health equity. 

 Learning Objectives

  • Distinguish media advocacy from other approaches to health communications. 
  • Apply strategy and messaging tools that provide the foundation for a strategic approach to communications.
  • Explore tools to communicate more effectively about COVID-19 and racial and health equity. 

Duration: 36 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Katherine Schaff, DrPH

Dr. Katherine Schaff works to help build the organizational and communications capacity of local health departments, government agencies, and community-based organizations working towards racial and health equity. Prior to joining Berkeley Media Studies Group, she spent 11 years at the Alameda County Public Health Department working towards racial, social, and health equity through policy change, community partnerships, and building institutional and staff capacity within the health department and the county. Before moving to the Bay area, Katherine supported local health departments at the National Association of County and City Health Officials in Washington, DC. She received her Masters of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. Her doctoral research focused on how local health departments addressed and communicated about the foreclosure crisis as a driver of health inequities.

Mitigating the Fear of the Unknown: Resilience Building Strategies for Public Health Professionals

COVID-19 presents numerous challenges to the public health workforce, including fear, anxiety, potential burnout and stress, and a great deal of uncertainty. These challenges have an impact on an individual’s health and well-being, on our individual relationships, and on our work performance. This session will share strategies to build individual resilience as we continue to respond to COVID-19. Participants will leave the session with practical tools to prepare for the “next normal,” not the “new” normal, by committing to self-care, resilience, and adaptive leadership in the days and months ahead.

Learning objectives:

  • Explain the healthy and unhealthy functions of anxiety, fear, and stress
  • Describe three self-care skills to help address anxiety and uncertainty
  • Apply resilience-building strategies to their professional experience in public health

Duration: 39 minutes

Continuing Education Information: 0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Dr. Michael Fraser, CEO, ASTHO. 

Dr. Fraser is the chief executive officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the national nonprofit organization representing state and territorial leaders of public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in state‐based public health practice.Dr.Fraser is a dynamic leader in the health care and public health fields. Prior to joining ASTHO, he served as the executive vice president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Medical. Michael has been a distinguished leader in public health for over twenty years. He served as CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) from 2007 to 2013; he was the deputy executive director of the National Association of County, and City Health Officials from 2002 to 2007and served in several capacities at the US Department of Health and Human Services, including positions at the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Establishing New Norms: Addressing Behavioral Health Needs Post-Pandemic

Mental health issues have greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Michelle Cabrera shares experiences, trends, and lessons learned from the California County Behavioral Health Directors Association.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn how COVID-19 has impacted the delivery of safety net behavioral health services in California
  • Learn how California’s Public Safety Net has adapted to address shifts in the financing, care delivery, and community need post-pandemic
  • Share how the public behavioral health safety net can support the role of public health in addressing the needs of both the workforce and affected communities

Duration: 34 minutes

Continuing Education Information: 0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Michelle D. Cabrera

Michelle Doty Cabrera joined County Behavioral Health Directors Association as Executive Director in May 2019. Ms. Cabrera has a wealth of experience in the state budget and policy as an advocate and staff for the California legislature. Before joining CBHDA, she served as the Healthcare Director for the California State Council of the Services Employees International Union (SEIU California), where she advocated on behalf of healthcare workers and consumers, including SEIU California's county behavioral health workforce. She served as a Senior Consultant for the Assembly Human Services Committee, where she specialized in child welfare issues and staffed legislation, which extended foster care in California to age 21. Ms. Cabrera also served as a Program Officer for the California Healthcare Foundation, working as a liaison on state health policy in Sacramento. Ms. Cabrera serves as a member of the National Quality Forum's Standing Committee on Disparities and the Board of Directors of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network.

Embracing Aloha: Opportunities for Community Engagement and Resilience

In the past six months, our country has struggled with the negative impact of COVID-19, with widespread disruption in access to mental health care, economic stability, and social connectivity. Hawai‘i has led the country in positive public health results but continues to struggle with the economic impact, job loss, and the crisis faced by our small businesses. How do we continue to build community engagement and resilience? This presentation will review the factors specific to our island community that has helped create these positive public health and mental health outcomes. It will examine what factors can be considered in other communities, the elements that have been successfully used during this first wave, and helpful tools to consider implementing.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss factors impacting community engagement and resilience, specific to Hawai'i
  • Examine community factors to consider in a public health approach
  • Review elements used to build interconnectedness and resilience during COVID-19
  • Identify helpful tools to consider for your community

Duration: 34 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Recorded Webinar

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Dr. Mestisa Gass, PhD

Mestisa C. Gass is the new Program Director for Mental Health America of Hawai‘i (MHAH). She graduated with a Master’s and Doctorate degree, in Clinical Psychology. Her education and experience has been focused on diverse populations including inpatient acute adolescent care, community mental health, and military mental health. Her training and work has emphasized diversity and trauma-focused care. She is a certified trainer for the MHAH’s Youth Suicide and Bullying Prevention Training for Trainers (T4T) curriculum and Mental Health First Aid for Adults and Youth. She is a member of the Mental Health Task Force, the Statewide and Oahu Suicide Prevention Task Forces, and a board member for the Waipahu Aloha Clubhouse. She has been working in Hawaii since 2006, being originally from a small, farming community in the Appalachian Mountains. She is passionate about bringing education, support, and resources to rural communities, like those in which she spent her childhood.

Sleep and Social Rhythms: Important Health Considerations After Involuntary Job Loss

Dr. Haynes will review early findings from the NIH-funded Assessing Daily Activity Patterns through occupational Transitions (ADAPT) study. Also, she will discuss why the promotion of sleep and consistent daily routine might be especially salient for individuals lacking daily time structure imposed by regular employment.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define social rhythms
  • Apply information about sleep and social rhythms to stressful life events and experiences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Give examples of behavioral interventions informed by chronobiology

Duration: 34 minutes

Continuing Education Information: 0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Patricia Haynes, PhD

Dr. Haynes is an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist with expertise in cognitive behavioral therapies for PTSD, depression, and insomnia. Her research examining sleep and stress has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the American Sleep Medicine Foundation. She has authored multiple publications in the area of traumatic stress, and she has substantial experience training mental health providers in the areas of sleep and stress recovery. Currently, she has a well-established partnership with the Tucson Fire Department, where she provides services to fire service members and assists in the establishment of behavioral health policies and programs designed to foster firefighter mental health and stress resiliency.

Addressing the Conjoined Crisis of COVID-19 and Homelessness: Towards Racial and Housing Justice

This presentation addresses the persistent crisis of homelessness in U.S. cities and presents recent research from Los Angeles that demonstrates how the economic and social devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic will greatly worsen the crisis of housing insecurity. The crisis of homelessness, as well as that of impending evictions, are disproportionately borne by Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, making these matters of racial inequality. While public health experts have drawn attention to the dangers of congregate shelters and the need for emergency non-congregate sheltering, what is urgently needed are new visions and models of housing provision. Adopting a Housing First approach, Professor Roy will make a case for how access to housing can be rapidly and significantly expanded, and the principles of racial and housing justice that must undergird such efforts.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on housing insecurity, particularly the disparities faced by Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.
  • Describe the Housing First approach.
  • Identify strategies to expand access to housing in the context of racial and housing justice.

Target Audience: Public Health Professionals 

Duration: 34 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: Ananya Roy, Professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Geography and The Meyer and Renee Luskin Chair in Inequality and Democracy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ananya Roy is a Professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Geography and The Meyer and Renee Luskin Chair in Inequality and Democracy at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the inaugural Director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA, which advances research and scholarship concerned with displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the world. Working in alliance with social movements, the Institute seeks to build power and abolish structures of inequality. Ananya’s work has a determined focus on poverty and inequality with special emphasis on housing insecurity and urban displacement. Her most recent book is Encountering Poverty: Thinking and Acting in an Unequal World(University of California Press, 2016), which was accompanied by the #GlobalPOV video series. Currently, she leads a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network on Housing Justice in Unequal Cities.

Protecting the Health of People Experiencing Homelessness in the COVID Pandemic

Homelessness is a public health crisis fueled by racial inequities and society's policy choices. The conditions under which people experiencing homelessness (PEH) live place them at increased risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus. They are also more likely to develop COVID once exposed, and less likely to receive care and have conditions that will enable them to recover. We will review some of the data on PEH's health status, measures taken by providers to protect the health of PEH during the COVID pandemic, recommendations made by CDC and HUD, and partnerships that were formed among health and shelter service providers in the pandemic. We will also explore some of the limited data about COVID and PEH and public health measures that should be taken to protect the health of PEH and to end homelessness.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand homelessness in the broader societal framework and the risk factors affecting health status faced by people experiencing homelessness (PEH)
  • Understand some responses to the COVID pandemic by Health Care for the Homeless Programs, Medical Respite programs, local health departments, CDC and HUD
  • Evaluate what short- and long-term steps need to be taken to protect the health of PEH as a means to end homelessness.

Duration: 32 minutes

Continuing Education Information:  0.5 CECH for CHES

Format: Web-based training, Self Study

Originally Recorded: 08/2020

Presenter: G. Robert (“Bobby”) Watts, MPH, MS, CPH

Bobby Watts is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, which supports the 300 federally-supportedHealth Care for the Homeless programsand90 Medical Respite providers with training, technical assistance, sharing of best practices, research, publications, and an active policy and advocacy program working to eliminate homelessness. A nationally recognized advocate and leader in meeting the health needs of people without homes, Bobby has 30 years of experience in administration, direct service, and implementation of homeless health services, beginning as a live-in counselor at the NYC Rescue Mission. He spent most of his career before joining the Council at Care for the Homeless, which operates clinics, shelters, and conducts policy analysis and advocacy in NYC, beginning as an intern and serving as the Executive Director for twelve years. He has served on numerous boards and government-appointed task forces and councils. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Columbia University Mailman School of PublicHealth from which he holds a Master’s in Public Health in health administration and a Master's Science in epidemiology. He also earned a Certificate of Theological Studies from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY.

Press ESC key to close search
SECTORS MENU IN DETAIL

Almost done!

One More Step:

Check your email to confirm your subscription to join us

Stay up to date with WRPHTC News!

Sign Up for our Newsletter

Subscribe to the WRPHTC newsletter for updates!