HHS awards $16.8M to train public health workforce
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| HHS Secretary and former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Image source: www.governor.ks.gov |
The PHTC program helps improve the public health system by enhancing skills of the current and future public health workforce, according to the HHS. Institutions accredited to provide graduate or specialized training in public health are eligible for funding. Most of the funding—$15.4 million—is made available by the Prevention and Public Health Fund included as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Funded organizations should:
- Plan, develop, operate and evaluate projects that support goals established by the Secretary in preventive medicine, health promotion and disease prevention; or
- Improve access to and quality of health services in medically underserved communities.
Other PHTC activities include assessing the learning needs of the public health workforce; providing accessible training; and working with organizations to meet strategic planning, education and resource needs.
“Whether facing public health emergencies such as natural disasters, or chronic conditions like obesity, a well-trained public health workforce is critical to ensuring the nation’s health and welfare,” said Mary K. Wakefield, PhD, RN, administrator of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which oversees the PHTC program.
PHTC award recipients include:
- Arizona Board of Regents, Tucson, Ariz., $647,640
- Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, Calif., $649,820
- Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles, $650,000
- San Diego State University Research Foundation, San Diego, $647,880
- University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colo., $649,500
- University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla. $650,000
- University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $630,030
- Emory University, Atlanta, $650,000
- Indiana University, Indianapolis, $129,270
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, Ky., $647,300
- Tulane University, New Orleans, $650,000
- Trustees of Boston University, Boston University Medical Campus, Boston, $649,980
- Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., $650,000
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., $643,000
- Trustees of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., $618,730
- University of Medicine and Dentistry of New York - School of Public Health, New Brunswick, N.J., $647,650
- Research Foundation of the State University of New York, Albany, N.Y., $649,920
- Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $650,000
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, $649,750
- University of Pittsburgh, $649,990
- University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, $650,000
- University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C., $650,000
- East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tenn., $650,000
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, $649,800
- Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Va., $488,360
- University of Washington, Seattle, $650,000
- Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, Madison, Wis., $628,480
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