The second class of scholars at Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute recently began instruction.
The second class includes 14 Nebraskans, two Iowans and two South Dakotans. The Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute is a year long program designed to strengthen leadership knowledge and skills to improve public health practice.
The Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute is one of 21 state or regional Public Health Leadership Institutes. Every state but one in the United States is covered by a Public Health Leadership Institute.
“Nebraska and its neighboring Great Plains states need skilled public health leaders who will champion the mission of public health — creating conditions in which all people can be healthy,” said Magda Peck, Sc.D., director of the institute and UNMC professor of pediatrics and public health. “This is an unprecedented time for public health in our region, and the nation. From responding to natural and manmade emergencies like Katrina and bad spinach to preventing infant mortality and chronic diseases like cancer, effective public health leadership is critical to mobilizing people and resources for safety and sound solutions.”
The institute is designed for senior and emerging leaders in public and private organizations whose primary mission is to improve the health and well being of populations and communities in our region. In addition, the institute aims to increase the value of public health within these communities through greater leadership in action.
The Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute Scholars in the Class of 2006-2007 are:
- Ann Hindery Camp, Alegent Health Systems, Omaha
- Angela Poole, Iowa Dept. of Public Health, Des Moines, Iowa
- Christine Swanson, Rural Health Education Network (UNMC), Omaha
- Charles Cone, Loup Basin Public Health Department, Burwell
- Colleen Svoboda, Nebraska Health and Human Services System, Lincoln
- Freddie Gray, Douglas County Health Department Board of Health, Omaha
- Heather Elton, East Central District Health Department, Columbus
- Howard Needelman, M.D.,University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
- Ingrid Rasmussen, Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Jamie Hahn, Nebraska Health and Human Services System, Lincoln
- Jeff Armitage, Nebraska Health and Human Services System, Lincoln
- Julie Shasteen, Student, PhD Human Sciences, UNL, Lincoln
- Kara Urkoski, East Central District Health Department, Columbus
- Kerri R. Peterson, Our Healthy Community Partnership, Omaha
- Lazaro “Arturo” Spindola, M.D., East Central District Health Department, Columbus
- Marcus Johnson, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines, Iowa
- Melissa Magstadt, Sioux Valley Clinic-Watertown, Watertown, S.D.
- Sarah Cunningham, Ph.D., Central Nebraska Area Health Education Center, Grand Island
The Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute is an initiative of the Nebraska Educational Alliance for Public Health Impact (NEAPHI). It is supported in part by funding from the Upper Midwest Public Health Training Center and the Upper Midwest Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Iowa, Nebraska Health and Human Services System, and the Nebraska Center for Biopreparedness Education.
Additional in-kind support comes from UNMC, CityMatCH and other NEAPHI member organizations.
The application deadline for the 2007-2008 year is May 15, 2007. For more information contact the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute at 402-561-7562, or see www.greatplainsleadership.org.