1. Public Health: A Career for a Lifetime
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Cyndi Billian Stern, MA, MPH
Joan Lane, MPH
Co-chairs, Mentors on Request
CT Public Health Association

2. Overview What is Public Health? My Story
What do Public Health Professionals do?
Public Health Skills: Most wanted by Employers
Why choose a public health career?
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

3. What is Public Health? Everything we do to….
Prevent and protect communities from disease, disasters and injury
Improve health and healthy lifestyles locally and globally
Public Health is the science and art of preventing disease, disasters and injury
It is promoting health and healthy behaviors by creating environments that have safe communities, clean air, water, accessible food and health care.
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between public health and medical care?
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

4. What is Public Health? The Difference Between Public Health and Medical Care
Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January–March 2016
by Robin A. Cohen, Ph.D., Michael E. Martinez, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., and Emily P. Zammitti, M.P.H., Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics
2010: 48 million uninsured million uninsured
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

5. Life expectancy 1900-2000 What was it then? What is it today?
How much was due to medical advances?
What was it then?
What is it today?
Why the change?
1900 life expectancy was 48
Today it is 78 in the US, but it varies among populations with the most needy dying earlier.
The gain in life expectancy is due primarily to advances in public health.
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

6. 10 Greatest Achievements of Public Health in the 20th Century
Vaccination programs
Motor vehicle safety
Safer workplaces
Control of infectious diseases
Decrease in heart disease and stroke
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named the 10 greatest achievements in public health from (during the past century).
Since 1900, The average lifespan of Americans has increased by 30 years. It is recognized that almost 90% of the increase is due to advances in public health like the ones on this slide, while the rest are due to medical advances.
ASK STUDENTS
Vaccine: measles, smallpox, polio - When was the last time you received a vaccination?)
MVS: roads, seat-belts, safer cars- What was the decrease in MV deaths following seatbelt laws? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the reduction in fatalities with correct use of lap-shoulder belts is estimated at 43%, with a 50% reduction in severe injuries.
Safer workplaces: since 1980, public health laws have resulted in much safer workplaces. By what percentage do you think accidents have decreased in the workplace due to these laws? 40%
Infection: clean water decrease in cholera, TB, STDs, operations: How many children die from waterborne diseases each year? 2 million
CVD Stroke- By what percentage do you think strokes have decreased since 1972 and why? 51% decrease since 1972

7. 10 Achievements of Public Health
6. Safe and healthy food
7. Healthy mothers, healthy babies
8. Family planning
9. Fluorinated drinking water
10. Recognition of tobacco as a health hazard
Identifying essential micronutrients and establishing food-fortification programs have almost eliminated major nutritional deficiency diseases such as rickets, goiter, and pellagra in the United States.
Since 1900: 90% decrease Infant mortality, 99% reduction in deaths during childbirth. Why? Result of better hygiene and nutrition, availability of antibiotics, greater access to health care, and technologic advances in maternal and neonatal medicine
Family planning: fewer infant, child, and maternal deaths; and the use of barrier contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and other STDs.
Fluoridation: Since 1945 (40%-70% in children) and of tooth loss in adults (40%-60%). When was the last time you went to the dentist? Did he/she give flouride treatment?
Smoking : 1964 decrease in deaths due to smoking– What caused this decrease? Surgeon General’s report that smoking leads to disease and death (cancer, heart disease, COPD).
What are the challenges for the 21st century?
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

8. Key to Success: Focus on Social Determinants of Health
Education
Health literacy
Literacy- 1 in 5 speak a foreign language at home*
Jobs
Access to Health care
Zipcode v. Genetic Code
2015
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

9. How Public Health Tackles Disease The 10 Essential Services
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Assessment
Monitor health
Dx & investigate
Policy Development
Inform, educate, empower
Mobilize communities
Develop policies & programs
Assurance
Enforce laws
Link people to services
Assure competent workforce
Evaluate and research again

10. HEALTH RESEARCH: Gapminder
Demographic trends
Finding and accessing public health information
Communicating it in a visually attractive and convincing manner to the public funders lawmakers
Research related jobs in CT
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
How health and wealth are connected

11. PREVENTION Public Health and Health Care Removing Boundaries, Building Partnerships
Why partner now? Because prevention …
Saves $$$: 7 out of 10 diseases are chronic and preventable. US spent $2.5 trillion on health care costs due to chronic diseases in
Enhances Quality of Life:
Improves the Health Workforce: Research outcomes Monitor progress Market health promotion activities
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) Reduce morbidity and mortality from heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD, diabetes, accidents, depression 1

12. My Story- Looking for Upstream Causes
Speech Therapy
Public Affairs/ Lobbying
Project Director Researcher
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
My story includes being a speech therapist for birth to three language delayed children. When I found almost all of their mothers were single teenagers when they delivered, I started volunteering with CT’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition. In a few years, I left speech therapy and worked for Planned Parenthood, heading the Coalition activities. Eventually I returned for an MPH and established my own public health consulting firm.
Replace this slide and tell your story. Make this presentation your own. Share your presentation and your stories with us.
PH Mentoring/ Advising Advocacy
PH Curriculum Developer
Workforce Development Consultant, MPH candidate
VOLUNTEERISM
Planned Parenthood, CT Voices for Children, Vision Health International, CT Forum, CPHA Mentors on Request

13. Example: How Opioid Addiction Became a Public Health Problem
Opioid StoryCPTV
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Point out that the blue state shave the highest rate of hospital care due to drug overdoses.
Click on the Opioid Story for the 4 minute video on the topic.
In Connecticut, accidental overdose deaths increased 25% from 2015 to 2016,
according to the state medical examiner’s office.

14. Detect and Stop Disease Outbreaks
Laboratory Scientist: $50K median)
Job Description: Tests the water, identifies pathological organisms
Epidemiologist: $80K
Job Description: Investigate, describes, prevents and controls disease in a population.
Environmental Health Specialist: $49K Job Description: Monitors the air, water, food to ensure public safety
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Microbiologists are one type of lab scientist. They need a 4 year degree. Talk about the peanut butter scare. If they ask how they collect samples, tell them stool samples.
Chemists are the other type of Lab scientists. They need a 4 year degree. They monitor water. Talk about a recent occurrence of radiation that was discovered in normal monitoring well water in southern CT. Also work in petroleum refining, mining, food processing, and water and sewage treatment. Government agencies also employ chemists in such areas as agriculture and pollution control. In addition, many chemists work for colleges and universities, hospitals, and independent research institutes. (Bob Howard, DPH
Laboratory Technicians- 2 year degree- help set up and report clinical results in cooperation with above professionals.
Environmental health specialists enforce government regulations and advise and educate clients.  They also improve water and sanitation facilities and are involved in improving the quality of community environments. (

15. Rescue Your Community Disaster Preparedness Specialist: 50K+
Job Description:
Work at a local health department or community hospital to design and test emergency preparedness plans
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
These pictures are following Katrina.
Further career description: coordinator for bioterrorism preparedness activities, including ensuring that all jurisdictions in district develop and maintain up-to-date, adequate plans for responding to acts of bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health emergencies and threats.

16. Health Policy/Legislative Affairs
Health Policy Analyst $60K-$150K
Job description: Develops policy papers, facts sheets and presents the public health organization’s views to the press, public and lawmakers. Works for non-profits, local and state departments of health.
Key Issues: Zika funding, Health Care Access, Legalization of marijuana, Safe environments, water, and food, diabetes, obesity, health disparities, women’s health
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

17. Health Informatics Specialist/Manager
Health informatics Specialist/manager $69K- (average) -$125K
BS degree (specialist) MS (Director)
Uses modern technology to support and exchange critical health information among all levels of public health and medical care.
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Example: With Electronic health records a person with H1N1 can enter the hospital and have their medical and personal information immediately entered into the hospital system. The Hospital can track where the person works, lives get the information to public health departments to alert other organizations that exposure has taken place to help prevent the spread of the flu.

18. From Opioid Epidemic Control to
Career Control Public health skills transfer
Public Health Core Competencies
Communication
Analytic/ Systems Thinking
Assessment
Leadership and Collaboration
Global Awareness
Technology
Skills in new hires
sought by employers*
Communication
Analyze data
Leadership and teamwork
Multicultural Sensitivity/awareness
Technology
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

19. How Trending Issues Lead to Hot Careers
*Telemedicine Remote clinical services,
Telehealth remote non-clinical services, such as provider training, administrative meetings, and continuing medical education, in addition to clinical services.
Communicating public health policies is key to improving public health. Since the administration has changed, health policy analysts and experts has been cited as one of the hot jobs for 2009 in US news and world report. It will remain hot in this new administration (2016). Being timely, accurate, and being able to mobilize other supporters for your issues is key to getting new policies changed at the community, state or national level. Health care reform is a big issue for this president.
The interesting thing about this job is that you will find some people with PhDs in public health at this job, and others with a bachelor’s degree in English. A few have no specialized degree, but have run for office and have garnered expertise from being lawmakers on the public health committee of the CT General Assembly.
Do you know if you and your parents have health care insurance? Do you think this is an important issue?
Telemedicine/ telehealth facts:
The Virtual Doctor Is In
The number of virtual doctor visits in the U.S. 1 million in 2015 to 1.2 million in (increase of 20%)
The percentage of providers that have telemedicine programs hospitals 72%, 52% of physician groups offer it
The percentage of large employers offering telemedicine benefits 48%, 2015 and 2016, 74% offered it
Typically, these are for nonemergency issues such as colds, flu, earaches and skin rashes, and they cost around $45, compared with approximately $100 at a doctor’s office, $160 at an urgent-care clinic or $750 and up at an emergency room. *
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

20. Trending Issues Impact of an Aging population:
Shortage of geriatricians
CT has most expensive nursing homes 12K/month
CT is 7th oldest state (15% over 65)
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Creating a Culture of Health:
One solution for many issues
CT has the highest nursing home costs in the country at 150K per year according to a 2016 Lincoln Financial survey.
Trending Career: Executive Director of Independent Living Facility for Seniors $85K
BS, MBA or MS with experience in health management and financial
Management
Health Care Navigator Community Health Care Navigator

21. Trending Solutions
Built Environment and Public Health (5:24 min)
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
MPH wanted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Social Innovation Specialist

22. Inter-professional Opportunities with Your Public Health Skills
From Haiti to Hartford
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Federal, state and local government
Consulting firms (policy, training research
Pharmaceutical companies
Foundations
Hospitals/clinics
Insurance companies
International organizations
Universities
Cyndi Billian Stern, MA, MPH CT Public Health Association
Mentoring Organization Registry

23. Why Choose Public Health?
Build transferrable skills that keep you employed
Make the world better
Worry, but be happy
Summary
Why Choose Public Health?
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017

24. Build transferrable skills that keep you employed. Be Happy
Why Choose Public Health?
Build transferrable skills that keep you employed. Be Happy
Tal Ben Shahar
The most popular course at
Harvard:
Happiness= where your strengths, meaning and pleasure intersect.
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017
Tal Ben-Shahar taught the most popular course at Harvard before leaving to become an entrepreneur, teaching the keys to happiness.

25. CPHA Mentors on Request
American Cancer Society Black Women’s Health Council Central CT Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Central Connecticut Health District Chesprocott Health District Connecticut Children's Medical Center Danbury Health and Housing Department CT Association of Directors of Health CT Department of Public Health CT Partnership for Public Health Workforce Dev. Delta Omega Beta Rho, University of CT East Hartford Dept. of Health and Human Serv. East Shore Health District Farmington Valley Health District Guilford Health Department Hartford Health and Human Services Dept. Health Occupations Students of America, CT Health and Equity, LLC Hispanic Health Council Institute of Community Research
Ledge Light Health District Meriden Dept. of Health and Human Services New Britain Health Department New Haven Health Department Newtown Health Department Northeast District Dept. of Public Health Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Plainville-Southington Regional Health District Southern CT State Univ. Dept., of Public Health Southern CT State Univ, Public Health Society Southwestern CT Area Health Education Center University of St. Joseph University of Hartford University of CT Master of Public Health Program University of CT, Public Health Student Org. University of CT, Alumni Board of the Master of Public Health Program West Haven Health Department Yale School of Public Health Yale Emerging Infections Program
CT Public Health Association MENTORS ON REQUEST 2017