ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan School of Public Health recently launched a program aimed at providing training and support for the state’s public health work force.

The Michigan Public Health Training Center (MPHTC) is funded by a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions, and is one of eight such centers across the country. The goal of the grant program is “to improve the nation’s public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership competence of the current and future public health work force.”

The Center will initially conduct a comprehensive training needs and technological capacity assessment of Michigan’s public health work force. Then it will develop a series of 18 short courses to take place on a rotating basis in Michigan communities with limited access to health care, and later convert these short courses to mentored, Web-based offerings. The first round of classes is slated for Flint in May 2002, and later courses will be held in Detroit and Northern Michigan.

“The Training Center provides an excellent opportunity for the School of Public Health to make its educational resources available to the broad diversity of public health workers who are addressing Michigan’s most serious public health challenges,” said Toby Citrin, Center director and director of the Community Based Public Health program at the school.

In addition, MPHTC will offer guidance to public health workers on career development and training resources for areas not traditionally included in the public health curriculum, such as computer or management skills. It will help to facilitate access to Michigan-specific public health data, and to create a virtual learning community linking current and former students for sharing experiences and resources and providing mutual support.

The overall mission of the Center is to develop a comprehensive, coordinated, statewide strategy for improving the competency of the public health work force by linking the U-M School of Public Health with the state’s major public health stakeholders.

Principal practice partners, which are participating in the design of the center’s offerings, include:

Michigan Department of Community Health; Michigan Public Health Institute; Faith Access to Community Economic Development; Friends of Parkside; Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan Inc.; Michigan Association of Health Plans; Michigan Association for Local Public Health; Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health; Michigan Health and Hospital Association; Michigan League for Human Services; Michigan Osteopathic Association; Michigan Primary Care Association; Michigan State Medical Society; University of Michigan Health System.

“Initial and ongoing training are extremely important for our public health work force,” said Dr. David Johnson, chief medical executive and deputy director for public health at the Michigan Department of Public Health. “We are very excited to be involved with many partners in this Training Center to enhance the quality of and increase access to public health training in our state.”

“The participation of community-based organizations on the board is significant to the unique nature of the MPHTC. The planning, development and implementation of the Center will express this unique perspective,” said Yvonne Lewis, program administrator for Faith Access to Community Economic Development, a faith-based group working to improve the health and well-being of Flint residents. “Expanding the definition of the public health work force beyond health department employees to include all who perform public health functions will open opportunities for non-traditional health professionals to enhance their skills through the training offered.”

Ultimately, the Center aims to remain a permanent asset for the state’s public health work force beyond the duration of its grant.

The Community Health Leadership Institute, a yearlong program focused on building leadership and relationships among those practicing or participating in community health, will become a part of the Center in two years. In its sixth year, the Leadership Institute has 104 alumni and 32 current participants. It is funded by the Michigan Department of Community Health and is administered by the Michigan Public Health Institute.

For more information, contact Shelley Coe at the U-M School of Public Health (734) 936-1226, scoe@umich.edu

School of Public HealthHealth Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health ProfessionsToby CitrinMichigan Department of Community Healthscoe@umich.edu