Public Health to have 1 of 8 training centers

The UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine is one of eight schools in the country to receive funds to establish a regional Public Health Training Center.

The new center will receive $2.67 million over five years to form a network of public health training coordinators and collaborative agreements with educational institutions and programs in six states - Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and Idaho. The center will serve as a training ground for public health students and practicing professionals to learn the latest techniques and practices to protect public health. The center will design, implement and evaluate training modules in multiple formats, incorporate appropriate course work into formal educational programs, and periodically reevaluate public health workforce training needs.

"One of our goals in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine is to enhance outreach and training for students and public health professionals throughout the Northwest," said Dr. Patricia Wahl, dean of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. "This grant will provide significant support for those efforts."

Dr. Mark Oberle, associate dean for public health practice in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, is the principal investigator on the project; Jack Thompson, now director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice and senior lecturer in the Department of Health Services, will direct the new center. He is also a faculty associate in the Health Policy Analysis Program.

"The School of Medicine is delighted and interested in working with the center to help establish public health training programs throughout the WWAMI region," said Dr. John Coombs, associate vice president for medical affairs and associate dean of regional affairs, rural health and graduate medical education.

The center is funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which recently launched a $15.4 million program to develop a network of the new centers. ¶