Council on Linkages Meeting Summary (May 2021)

Advancing the public health workforce to achieve organizational excellence

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Topic: Council on Linkages, Performance Management and Quality Improvement, Workforce Development

Author: Kathleen Amos

Date: 6/7/2021

Council on Linkages Meeting Summary

May 2021

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages) held its first meeting of the year on May 25 ^th. More than 100 Council on Linkages members and friends participated in this virtual meeting to discuss current Council on Linkages initiatives and plans for the future.

Revision of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals Underway

The Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies), a consensus set of foundational or crosscutting knowledge and skills for the broad practice of public health, are currently undergoing revision to ensure that they keep current with changes in the field and continue to meet the needs of the public health workforce. Revision of the Core Competencies is heavily informed by feedback from the public health community, and feedback to guide the revisions was received during an initial open comment period from October 2020 to March 2021. Proposed revisions to the Core Competencies are currently being drafted, and a first draft is anticipated to be released for open comment in early June. Feedback on this draft will be welcome by email and online, and virtual town hall meetings are being scheduled to provide opportunities for discussion. The first virtual town hall meeting will take place during the Public Health Improvement Training (PHIT) on June 8^th. For more information about the revision of the Core Competencies, please visit the revision webpage or contact Kathleen Amos at [email protected].

Academic Health Department Learning Community Reaches Ten Year Milestone

The Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community celebrated 10 years in January and has grown to over 1,100 members since its launch in 2011. Interest and engagement in AHD partnerships continues, and the Learning Community continues to provide support for organizations developing, sustaining, and expanding these partnerships. Since the last Council on Linkages meeting, technical assistance related to AHD partnerships was provided, events were held in the AHD Webinar Series in December 2020 and May 2021, and AHD partnerships in Arizona and Nevada were featured in a presentation at the 2020 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. AHD partnerships will also be highlighted during sessions at the upcoming PHIT and National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) 360 Conference in June. For more details about the AHD Learning Community, please visit the Learning Community webpage or contact Kathleen Amos at [email protected].

Revitalizing the Governmental Public Health Workforce

The federal government’s recent investments in revitalizing the governmental public health workforce through the $7.4 billion appropriated under the American Rescue Plan highlight the critical importance of workforce development and offer context for the value of Council on Linkages initiatives in strengthening the public health workforce. The Core Competencies can provide guidance on desired knowledge and skills for newly hired workers and retraining existing workers, supporting the development of job descriptions for hiring, assessment of training needs and identification of gaps, and the development of training programs to ensure a highly skilled workforce. The AHD Learning Community helps to build the capacity of health departments and other public health organizations, support the pipeline into governmental public health, build the evidence base for public health practice, and prepare future workers for successful careers in public health. Through these and other activities, the Council on Linkages continues to support the current public health workforce and build for the future.

In Other Business…

The Council on Linkages welcomed the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the National Board of Public Health Examiners as new member organizations. A current list of Council on Linkages member organizations and representatives is available on the Council on Linkages website.
The next Council on Linkages meeting has not yet been scheduled, but is anticipated to be held in October 2021.

Additional information about the meeting, including the agenda and other meeting materials, is available on the meeting webpage.

Questions and comments may be emailed to Kathleen Amos at [email protected].

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