Return to Northwest Public Health

Return to Northwest Public Health

A Northwest Mission

The UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine is launching several new initiatives to strengthen the public health workforce in the northwestern states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The School's Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) is working in partnership with public health colleagues in practice and academic settings around the region to create workforce development strategies and training opportunities. These will range from short-term, distance learning training for frontline public health workers via a regional partnership, to a practice-based education resulting in an MPH degree through the University of Washington.

Plans include establishment of a Northwestern Regional Public Health Leadership Institute that builds on a strong base of experience with the national Public Health Leadership Institute and similar regional institutes elsewhere in the country. Workforce development activities will focus on the priorities and strengths of the state partners and will foster peer assistance, identify and support existing best practices, and develop training programs and curricula. Educational initiatives will include student practicum opportunities outside the Puget Sound area and a new undergraduate environmental health program to be launched in partnership with the Northwest Indian College. Grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Public Health Training Center program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Preparedness Center program will launch these new efforts.

For more information, visit the NWCPHP Web site or contact Jack Thompson (206-616-1061) or Betty Bekemeier (206-616-9567).

Beginning in 2001, Washington Public Health also is going regional to support the expanded mission of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. The magazine will be published twice a year under a new name—our working title is Northwest Public Health—to reflect the regional emphasis.