The Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community, a community of public health practitioners and educators interested in building, expanding, and sustaining successful AHDs, is compiling and creating resources to support AHD efforts. These resources include partnership agreements, documents used by health departments and academic institutions to establish formal AHD relationships. Partnership agreements may be comprehensive or more limited, addressing multiple or single aspects of education, research, or practice. Agreements collected by the AHD Learning Community are available online as reference for organizations working to formalize their own partnerships.

 

To help the AHD Learning Community build the most complete collection of AHD resources possible, please share your organization’s partnership agreements. Agreements can be sent to Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org.

 

Competency Assessments are now available for each of the three tiers of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies), allowing individuals in positions from entry level to senior management to assess their knowledge and skill level for each of the competencies. Using the results of their assessments, public health professionals can identify areas of strength and areas where additional training may be beneficial in meeting the needs of both their organizations and the wider public health field. The Core Competencies and Competency Assessments can also assist organizations as they work to identify and assess competence gaps in their workforce, create workforce development plans, and seek accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board.

 

The Competency Assessments were developed by Janet Place, MPH, North Carolina Public Health Academy, University of North Carolina, and modified by the Public Health Foundation. They may be adapted to meet local needs. For questions or feedback, please contact Kathleen Amos at kamos@phf.org. 

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages) held its first meeting of the year on January 27th. During the conference call meeting, representatives from Council on Linkages member organizations shared the excellent work their organizations have been doing to promote Council on Linkages initiatives, particularly the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals and the Academic Health Department Learning Community. The Council on Linkages also began discussing ways to enhance its communications, a discussion that will continue as the Council on Linkages moves forward with implementing its Strategic Directions, 2011-2015. More information about the meeting can be found in the meeting summary.

 

 

The Public Health Foundation has launched a national award program to promote use of quality improvement (QI) to influence positive outcomes in Winnable Battles. The Future of Public Health Award is a unique opportunity for state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments to receive onsite technical assistance to build capacity in QI and advance programs to improve outcomes in Winnable Battles. Award recipients will receive up to three days of on-site technical assistance and training from an expert in QI tools and methods, resource materials on best practices, and much more. Applications for the 2012 awards are being accepted through March 16, 2012. For eligibility requirements and additional information, visit http://www.phf.org/futureaward.