Office of the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Outreach

2021 National Association of County & City Health Officials 360 Virtual Conference

In July 2021, Emily Waldron, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health,  Rosa Contreras, Graham County Health Department, Julia Flannery, Pima County Health Department, and Kathleen Amos, Public Health Foundation, presented at the live pre-conference workshop "Partnership with Intention: Leaning into the Challenges of COVID-19."

Each presenter shared partnership stories faced during COVID-19- including successes, challenges, and surprise collaborations that occurred as each organization navigated the first year and half of the COVID-19 response in their communities.  The workshop highlighted MEZCOPH's Academic Health Department  (AHD) initiative at  two different stages - a well-established AHD with Pima County Health Department and a new AHD (established in 2021)  with Graham County Health Department.  The pre-conference workshop format allowed for smaller one-on-one conversations with local health departments and public heath agencies in attendance.

2021 Public Health Improvement Training (June 2021)

In June 20201, Emily Waldron, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Dr. Mariana Casal Singletary, Pinal County Health Services District, Julia Flannery, Pima County Health Department, Laura Valentino, Southern Nevada Health District, and  Kathleen Amos Public Health Foundation, presented the 2 hour interactive (virtual) workshop “Partnering with Intention: Leaning into Workforce Challenges for COVID-19 and Beyond” at the 2021 Public Health Improvement Training (PHIT).

The Public Health Improvement Training (PHIT) provides a one-of-a-kind professional development annual experience to health department professionals and their partners through workshops with peer learning, purposeful networking, and practical sessions with interactive activities to practice skills. PHIT is planned and convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) and the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI).

This session explored how three local health departments, with varying sizes and diverse communities, navigated the past year with their academic partners to respond to COVID-19 and build a workforce for the future. Participants learned about approaches used to engage partners and strengthen collaboration within community response efforts. Partnership successes, challenges, benefits, tips, and resources were shared. Over 60 public health professionals attended the presentation.

AHD Webinar Series:  A Student Perspective: Growing Academic Health Department Partnerships through Student Internship Programs (May 2021)

Internship programs are a core component of many academic health department (AHD) partnerships – formal partnerships between health departments and academic institutions. 

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice and the Public Health Foundation held a webinar on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 from to   hear directly from student interns engaged in the University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health's (MEZCOPH's) AHD internship program under MEZCOPH’s Office of the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Outreach. Through this program, student interns have helped to build an AHD partnership in rural Arizona, supported COVID-19 response efforts by blending public health and graphic design skills, and documented successes and lessons learned to help others in AHD partnership efforts.

Speakers included students Kendra Claridge, Aiden Grijalva, Erin Kenney, Jessica Martinez, and Sophia Maytorena.

The presentation can be found on the Public Health Foundation's Website.

AHD Webinar Series: Partners for Public Health Pima County Health Department and the University of Arizona (December 2020)

Emily Waldron, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Julia Flannery, Pima County Health Department, were invited by the Public Health Foundation to share the success story of an Academic Health Department partnership in action. Over 85 participants attended the presentation and heard about the approach used to determine collaborative project opportunities, the nuts and bolts of the growing partnership, and how joint expertise contributed to the foundational underpinning of a coordinated pandemic response in their community. Additionally, the presenters shared examples of how the AHD partnership played a vital role in the community response efforts and highlight plans for continued collaborations vitalized by the COVID-19 response experiences.

The presentation can be found on the Public Health Foundation's Website. 

American Public Health Association (APHA) 2020 Annual Meeting

Emily Waldron, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Julia Flannery, Pima County Health Department, Eileen Eisen-Cohen, Maricopa County Health Department, Laura Valentino, Southern Nevada Health District and Kathleen Amos, Public Health Foundation  presentation “Partners for Public Health: Models of Academic Health Departments”  was accepted to APHA's 2020 Annual Meeting. Julia Flannery presented on behalf of the group.

National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) Annual 2020 Virtual Conference

In July 2020, Emily Waldron, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Julia Flannery, Pima County Health Department, Eileen Eisen-Cohen, Maricopa County Health Department, and Kathleen Amos, Public Health Foundation, presented at the live session “Partners for Public Health: Models of Academic Public Health Departments” at the NACCHO virtual conference “Raising the Reach of Public Health.” The 90-minute session explored innovative partnerships between local public health departments and colleges of public health that maximize resources, supports workforce recruitment and retention, and enhances the service delivery to the communities.

Over 70 attendees, affiliated with universities, local health departments, between academic institution and national public health originations participated in the session.

The session can be viewed on the zoom website.

2019 Western Regional Academic Health Department Summit

The inaugural Academic Health Department Summit was located in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Southern Nevada Health District on December 1st -2nd, 2019. The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator, Emily Waldron, and Pima County Health Department’s Organizational Developmental Program Manager, Julia Flannery, served on the planning committee for the summit.

Fifty-four participants attended the Fall 2019 Summit, representing ten universities, five states, one Canadian province, Washington D.C., seven local health departments, one state health department, National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Pacific Southwest Region, the Public Health Foundation, and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The purpose of this summit was to elevate the discussion of Academic Health Department best practices towards codifying the essentials of a successful Academic Health Department. The conference examined model AHD practices, barriers and challenges, and navigating processes.

 

 

The Western Regional Public Health Training Center committed to a gold level sponsorship. Speakers from Arizona included:

• Dr. Eileen Eisen-Cohen - Maricopa County Health Department and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
• Dr. James Cunningham - Western Region Public Health Training Center and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
• Julia Flannery - Pima County Health Department
• Dr. Mac McCullough - Maricopa County Health Department and College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University
• Emily Waldron - Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

Download the 2019 Academic Health Department Inaugural Summit Program (PDF)