Public Health Fetes Outside Agencies
Community Partner Reception Brings Supporters to Campus for Program, Concentration Updates
The Public Health Program hosted a Community Partner Reception in late June on the Touro University California campus to honor the organizations and individuals who support the program and its students each year.
Dr. Gayle Cummings, Assistant Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Director of the Public Health Program, welcomed guests, thanked those who currently serve as preceptors and encouraged people to share information about the MPH program within their professional circles.
Cummings provided an overview of the program and encouraged guests to keep an eye out for prospective students within their ranks, such as Katie Burns, a current Master of Public Health student who works with the nonprofit Felton Institute’s Integrated Health & Resource Team, or IHART, a mobile community resource team serving the city of Vallejo by providing services to those experiencing a mental and behavioral health crisis.
The guests also received updates from the chairs of the program’s three concentrations:
- Nemesia Kelly, an associate professor with the program and MPH Class of 2013 alumna, spoke about the Criminal Justice and Health concentration, highlighting the unique contributions as the only accredited MPH in the country with this specialization.
- Dr. Deirdra Wilson shared information about the Community Action for Health concentration.
- Dr. Sahai Burrowes spoke about the Global Health concentration and plans to expand its reach.
Collaboration Leads to Results
Community partnerships are a vital part of the Master of Public Health Program. Partner organizations and agencies serve as the first career stop for students once they complete the didactic portion of the curriculum, allowing students to put what they learned in the classroom into practice in a supervised real-world setting.
The partnerships are created collaboratively to provide meaningful learning experiences and to improve health in the larger community.
Representatives of partnership organizations shared how the students allow them, for example, to conduct meaningful research about their respective operations, research that helps inform and enhance the services they provide.
The reception, which occurred June 25 in the Ballroom at the Farragut Inn, featured hors d’oeuvres and a hosted wine bar as well as a “bingo” game designed to encourage those in attendance to connect directly with one another.