On July 28, 2011, the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council) held its second meeting of the year. During the two hour conference call, the more than 30 public health professionals in attendance were updated on various activities in which the Council is involved.

New Directions for Workforce Recruitment and Retention Activities
With the adoption of the Council’s Strategic Directions, 2011-2015, the Council committed to developing a comprehensive plan for ensuring an effective public health workforce. The Pipeline Workgroup has made significant progress in exploring issues of recruitment and retention and collecting data about public health workers. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), with its public health and healthcare workforce provisions, presents a new opportunity for the Council to contribute to meeting the workforce needs of health departments and other public health organizations. Following a discussion of these opportunities at the July 28th meeting, the Council decided to shift the direction of the Pipeline Workgroup to explore developing strategies for guiding implementation of the workforce provisions contained in the ACA.

Election of Council Chair for the 2011-2013 Term
During the month of July, the Council held an election for the position of Council Chair, with the results announced at the July 28th meeting. C. William Keck, MD, MPH was re-elected Chair in a unanimous vote. Dr. Keck represents the American Public Health Association on the Council and is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Opportunities to Connect with the Council at National Conferences
In addition to a recent presentation at the National Association for County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) annual meeting, the Council will be presenting sessions at the upcoming meetings of the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) and the American Public Health Association (APHA). Sessions include:

19th Annual NALBOH Conference

• “How to Focus Your Training and Professional Development Efforts to Improve Your Board's Skills to Govern and Lead” – September 7th, 8:30-9:30 am
  

APHA 139th Annual Meeting and Exposition

• “How to Focus Your Training and Professional Development Efforts to Improve the Skills of Your Public Health Organization” – October 31st, 8:30-10:00 am
• “Competencies to Practice Toolkit: A Repository of Workforce Development Resources for Public Health” – October 31st, 4:50-5:10 pm
• “Academic Health Department Learning Community: A New Opportunity for Academic-Practice Collaboration” – November 1st, 8:30-10:00 am
• “Key Findings from a Council on Linkages Survey of Public Health Workers” – November 1st, 8:50-9:10 am

Join us at these sessions and keep up with the Council’s current activities!

Workgroup News
The Council has established a new Task Force to identify methods and tools to improve and measure the impact of training. Chaired by Wendy Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, who represents the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on the Council, the Training Impact Task Force will begin work in September with deliverables expected in approximately one year. Additionally, the Council voted to combine the Core Competencies Workgroup and Competencies to Practice Toolkit Subgroup. The combined group will be co-chaired by Diane Downing, PhD, RN, representative of Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, and Janet Place, MPH and will continue the Council’s efforts related to the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals.

In Other Business…

• Despite a challenging budget year, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and HRSA are pleased with the work of the Council and anticipate continuing to provide the vital funding that supports its initiatives.
• Janet Heinrich, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Associate Administrator of HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), requested assistance from Council members in recruiting for three leadership positions within BHPr: Director of the Division of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Education, Deputy Director of the Division of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Education, and Director of the Division of Workforce Policy and Performance Management. Letters of interest in any of these positions may be sent to bhpradmin@hrsa.gov. After the positions are officially posted by HRSA, the announcements will be distributed to Council members and other interested parties.
• The Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community continues to grow, with membership now at over 80 people, and is working to identify AHDs nationwide and create resources to support AHD development, maintenance, and growth.
• Findings from the Council’s 2010 Survey of Public Health Workers are currently in draft form. The final report will be posted on the Council’s website in early Fall 2011.
• Version 1.0 of the Undergraduate Public Health Learning Outcomes Model produced by the Association of Schools of Public Health in partnership with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Association for Prevention Teaching and Research, and CDC was released on July 29, 2011.
• A revised Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR) Agenda has been released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CDC, and the University of Kentucky National Coordinating Center for PHSSR for public comment. The online comment period is open until August 31, 2011.
  

Additional information about the meeting, including the materials used, is available on the meeting webpage.