Abbott, Kathryn

Public Health Workforce Development

The primary purpose of this project is to strengthen the public health workforce and consequently the public health infrastructure. This is to be done by an analysis of the present area orientation and workforce development process. Modifications of the present orientation program may be necessary when ascertaining the optimal recruitment/retention plan. As a result, the public health nursing workforce would be strengthened.

Barker, Joseph

Strengthening Collaboration of West Virginia 's Obesity Prevention Efforts

The purpose of this project is to facilitate the implementation of a collaborative network of public and private organizations in West Virginia to coordinate obesity prevention resources and strategies.

BeLer, Dean

Developing a primer on the relationship between the local health districts and city and county governments in Virginia.

Bentley, Jeannie

Increasing Patient Visits Through Open Access

The purpose of this project is to increase patient visists by decreasing the no show rates in patient clinics in three local health departments (Bledsoe, McMinn, and Rhea Counties) by implementing a more efficient "Open Access" system where patients just walk in for services.

Bobbitt-Cooke, Mary

Work in Progress

The Purpose of this project is to 1) improve and promote professional development for health educators in local health departments across the state by developing and institutionalizing health education skill standards/competencies that will strengthen professional practice and 2) identify resources to provide ongoing continuing education and training.

Brundage, Stephanie

Merger of Districts: Opportunity for Reassessment of Organizational Design.

The purpose of this project is to develop an organizational design for a health region using an interdisciplinary approach to develop commitment and buy-in. The product of this project will include both the final design of the organization and the enhancement of teamwork and organizational efficiency that will result from the process of working through the redesign.

Caldwell, Lucy

Quarantine and Isolation Community Education Plan

The purpose of this project is to provide a template plan for local health districts across Virginia to use as they educate their staffs and community partners on the impact of enacting a quarantine in their locality.

Campbell, Doug

An Evaluation of the Decontamination of Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs that was Recently Regulated by Temporary Rules by the North Carolina State Legislature

The purpose of this project is to determine whether recently adopted rules governing the clean-up, or decontamination, of clandestine methamphetamine labs ("clan labs" or "meth labs") in North Carolina actually result in achieving levels that would suggest that the facilities are safe to re-occupy. I plan to carry out a study that will determine pre-cleanup and post-cleanup levels of several contaminant chemicals in the labs. The study will then determine if the cleanup methods that are required by the state rules result in lowering levels of these contaminants to a significant degree and that would suggest that the buildings would not seriously impact health if they were re-occupied. The temporary rules do not require any oversight, proof or certification that the cleanup procedure has actually been followed, or testing, so a secondary question to answer is whether the recently enacted rules are effective in achieving an adequate cleanup. Therefore, the questions to be answered by this study are:

• Based on the use of the rules in North Carolina, are decontaminations of buildings that were used as methamphetamine labs actually performed in a manner that will lead to effective clean-up of the labs?

• If the rules are followed and cleanup is performed according to the rules, do levels of selected contaminants decrease to levels suggesting that the labs are safe to re-occupy?

Chappel, Michael

(with Stuart Crosby)

Workforce Development Model: A Comprehensive Strategy for Workforce Development for Environmental Public Health Professionals in South Carolina

The purpose of this project is to develop a Workforce Development Model for Environmental Public Health professionals in South Carolina that will provide the necessary guidance for competency building at each level and direction of an employee's career. The objective of this Model is to provide the employee with access to a career-long learning delivery system.

Chappell Witt, Susan

Policy and Environmental Change Orientation and Skill Development for the Local HPDP Public Health Professional

The purpose of this two-part project is to develop skills of local health department public health professionals to work at the policy and environmental change level in health promotion and chronic disease prevention (HPDP) activities (both primary and secondary prevention). The first part of this project will consist of the creation of an orientation manual and self-training development plan; the second part will be the development of a training workshop in which to pilot test the manual and further refine the professional development plan.

Cibrik, Sharon

WV Laboratory Workforce Development - A Public/Private Partnership Addressing Current and Future Laboratory Workforce Shortages

The purpose of this project is to examine the current and future public health and clinical laboratory workforce trends in West Virginia and stimulate future interest in clinical laboratory careers. The first part of the project is an analysis of WV public/private clinical laboratories using federal and state laboratory personnel regulatory requirements and input from WV clinical laboratories as a guide. The second part of the project is to foster awareness of the many functions of the public health laboratory directed toward a target audience of school students in 5 th - 11 th grade. A "Clinical Laboratory Career Ladder" will be created using the information gathered in this project.

Crosby, Stuart

(with Michael Chappel)

Workforce Development Model: A Comprehensive Strategy for Workforce Development for Environmental Public Health Professionals in South Carolina

The purpose of this project is to develop a Workforce Development Model for Environmental Public Health professionals in South Carolina that will provide the necessary guidance for competency building at each level and direction of an employee's career. The objective of this Model is to provide the employee with access to a career-long learning delivery system.

Epley, Joanne

(with Harvey Hoots)

Chempack Deployment

The purpose of this project is to identify strategic locations and forward place chemical antidotes though out the State of South Carolina utilizing statistical informatics to determine locations and emergency movement of the in assets an accidental or intentional nerve agent event.

Fernandez, Gustavo

Developing a Web Dynamic Data System in the State Center for Health Statistics Web Site

At the present time the web site for the State Center for Health Statistics (SCHS) is the main point of dissemination for health information in North Carolina. The site includes statistical information, publications, and spatial data on a variety of subjects related to public health. The site at http://www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/ is mainly a static system where users are limited to the choices already provided for them. This project would spearhead the implementation of a web dynamic data system (WDDS) permitting users to build parameters for constructing more flexible inquiries and increasing capacity for data retrieval.

Flanagan, Charlotte

Dysfunctional to Operational FQHC Board Governance; One Board's Journey

The purpose of this project is to provide the technical support to a dysfunctional, distrustful, untrained board of directors of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that will enable them to effectively operate as a board and assume governance responsibility. With board and administrative staff input a plan will be designed and implemented that incorporates, basic board training, interpersonal board relationship (team) building, and long term strategic planning. Throughout the change process the scholar will incorporate additional personal leadership skills to become an effective originator.

Goolsby, David

Strategic Planning Committee for Community Indicators VI

The purpose of this project is to develop action steps and interventions, and an implementation plan to improve health indices. An assessment of underlying causes and contributing factors is inherently the first step. Best practices (i.e. MAPP; Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships) will be used. I plan to serve as the leader and coordinator. The cyclic publication in Spartanburg County, Community Indicators, dates from 1988 and provides the background for this project. The Community Indicators have been updated at five-year intervals and have been publicized throughout the community.

Graham, Sandra

Threat Preparedness/Strategic National Stockpile--Community Involvement

The purpose of this project is to make an awareness of the importance of community, county government, and health community involvement in the preparedness of possible chemical or biological attacks, disasters or events, and natural disasters.

Green, Vicky

(with JoAnn Price, Linda Johnson and Angie Owalsky)

Developing Workforce Competencies of Public Health Nurses in South Carolina

The purpose of this project is to enhance the competencies of the nursing public health workforce within South Carolina. Efforts will be targeted to newly- hired BSN's and will primarily consist of the developing a statewide, consistent orientation program. Orientation will consist of modules that are initiated upon hiring and completed on-site within any region of the state. Selected staff will be trained to provide mentoring and monitor module completion on-site.

Halford, Sandy

Workforce Development for Public Health Nursing

The purpose of this project will be to assess the educational preparation of currently employed public health nurses in the East Tennessee region, their knowledge base of the core functions of public health nursing, and their preferred learning modalities. The assessment will be used to partner with academia (Colleges of Nursing) to provide continuing education which focuses on the identified knowledge deficits related to public health nursing.

Hayes, Susan

Excellence in Public Health Service

The purpose of this project is to expand and improve the way we provide services to our clients, community and each other. This will include assessment and plan development of health department customer service

Hoots, Harvey

(with Joanne Epley and Guang Zhao)

Chempack Deployment

The purpose of this project is to identify strategic asset locations, and forward place of chemical antidotes throughout the State of South Carolina utilizing statistical informatics to determine locations and emergency movement of the assets in an accidental or intentional nerve agent event.

Hubbard, Suzanne

Assessment of Dentists' Salaries Employed by TN Dept of Health: If you pay will they come?

The purpose of this project is to determine if the chronic shortage of dentists experienced by the Tennessee Department of Health, Bureau of Health Services is impacted by salary shortfall. The approach will be two fold. The first step will assess the need for restructuring the salary ranges of dentists in public health positions in Tennessee by comparing Tennessee Department of Health dentists' salaries to those in the other areas of public health and the private sector. If the first step reveals a need for salary revamping, the second step will be my preparation of a proposal for consideration by State of Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Personnel with recommended increased salary ranges for dentists employed by the Tennessee Dept of Health.

Huff, Joey

No plan received yet

Johnson, Linda

(with Vicky Green JoAnn Price, and Angie Owalsky)

Developing Workforce Competencies of Public Health Nurses in South Carolina

The purpose of this project is to enhance the competencies of the nursing public health workforce within South Carolina. Efforts will be targeted to newly- hired BSN's and will primarily consist of developing a statewide, consistent orientation program. Orientation will consist of modules that are initiated upon hiring and completed on-site within any region of the state. Selected staff will be trained to provide mentoring and monitor module completion on-site.

Lassiter, Jenny

Accreditation of a small health department

The purpose of this project is to determine if core public health services are available in a small rural health department with limited resources. The process of evaluating the agency will identify inadequacies and initiate the development of a plan to address those issues. Local public health accreditation is far ahead of any efforts that could lead to a state or national level of accreditation. The process will assure capacity of the agency, not specific services.

McCalman, Mark

(with Ami Sklar)

Tennessee Epidemiologic Workforce Capacity Assessment

The purpose of this project is to enhance epidemology workforce development within Tennessee 's Department of Health. Drawing upon published literature, experts in the field of workforce development and an advisory panel recruited to assist with this project, surveys will be developed and fielded to assess epidemiologic capacity in Tennessee. The final product for this project will be a two-part report: Epidemiologic Workforce Capacity Assessment Findings and Recommendations. It is our hope that this project will be just one more step in the long-term process of epidemiological workforce development and, ultimately, improving epidemiological capacity within the State of Tennessee .

McGill, Judy

Public Health Nursing CEU to Specialist Project

The Purpose of this project is to support competency-based training for public health nursing. The project will allow the 247 nurses employed by local health departments in West Virginia to become experts in the field of public health nursing and recognized specialists in public health nursing. The project is a collaborative effort among the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health, WV Association of Local Health Administrators, West Virginia Board of Professional Nursing (WVBORN), WV Higher Education Policy Commission, Health Careers Partnership Leadership Team, and the Southeast Public Health Training Center .

Miller, Pam Blair

Virginia CHEMPACK Project Training: A Challenge in Building Partnerships

The purpose of this project is to reflect on and to continue to strive to build strong, effective partnerships among Virginia Department of Health (VDH) staff and emergency responders from various settings. Virginia public health staff have expanded their roles since September 11, 2001, and in Virginia we have struggled to integrate ourselves as emergency responders to become part of a team that has existed for many years. As the lead coordinator responsible for implementing training related to this project, I have continued to encounter barriers and I plan to use new leadership skills to improve and possibly expedite the coordination process.

Morris, Dorothy (Diane)

Creating an All Hazards Exercise for the Mercer County, West Virginia, Emergency Planning Community Partners.

The purpose of this project is to develop an exercise that will allow emergency workers and public health workforce in Mercer County, West Virginia to test their leadership skills, developed plans and ability to adapt in a disaster situation. I will serve as the leader and planner for the exercise for the Mercer County Health Department and Community Partners.

Murray, Jane

Vicious Dog Community Watch Program for Scotland County

The purpose of this project is to create a community watch program in Scotland County that reports potentially vicious dogs to the City or County Animal Control Officer. The Officer will then visit the owner to ensure that the dog has been vaccinated against rabies and discuss ways to prevent an attack on another animal or human.

Olawsky, Angela

No plan turned in yet

Patterson, Janice

Volunteer Dental Program for Low Income Adults in Southwestern North Carolina

The purpose of this project is to bring together community partners and resources to develop a volunteer dental clinic to provide emergency/urgent dental care to uninsured working poor adults living in Cherokee, Clay and Graham Counties of Southwestern North Carolina .

Price, Jo Ann

(with Linda Johnson, Vicky Green, and Angie Owalsky)

Developing Workforce Competencies of Public Health Nurses in South Carolina

The purpose of this project is to enhance the competencies of the nursing public health workforce within South Carolina. Efforts will be targeted to newly- hired BSN's and will primarily consist of the developing a statewide, consistent orientation program. Orientation will consist of modules that are initiated upon hiring and completed on-site within any region of the state. Selected staff will be trained to provide mentoring and monitor module completion on-site.

Rouse, Betty

Establishing a Regional Lessons Learned Panel

The Regional Lessons Learned panel will draw from all disciplinary areas in public health districts within the region. It will provide a mechanism and a structure for gathering and analyzing lessons learned from various public health responses and a forum for exploring proposed solutions and determining best practices recommended for implementation.

Sanders, Linda

Leadership Training for Health Department Professionals

The purpose of this project is to build expertise within our ranks to offer training on a continuing basis and increase the availability of convenient, low cost, structured training opportunities for administrators, board of health members, and other health professionals in state and local health departments and health organizations in West Virginia.

Shockey, Alcinda

Leading the Horse To Water!

The purpose of this project is to educate and empower my local board of health to their public responsibility as board members in West Virginia. Local boards of health are given specific responsibilities through Chapter 16, Article 2 of the West Virginia Code. Each County Commission appoints board members to govern the 10 basic essential services that public health must provide for the protection of all county citizens and it is through their use of local control that each county's citizens are assured a specific level of living.

Sklar, Ami

(with Mark McCalman)

Tennessee Epidemiologic Workforce Capacity Assessment (TEWCA)

The purpose of this project is to enhance epidemology workforce development within Tennessee 's Department of Health. Drawing upon published literature, experts in the field of workforce development and an advisory panel recruited to assist with this project, surveys will be developed and fielded to assess epidemiologic workforce capacity in Tennessee. The final product for this project will be a two-part report: Epidemiologic Workforce Capacity Assessment Findings and Recommendations. It is our hope that this project will be just one more step in the long-term process of epidemiological workforce development and, ultimately, improving epidemiological capacity within the State of Tennessee .

Sprayberry, Karen

No plan turned in yet

Tant, Carol

Achieving Organizational Change in the Children and Youth Branch: Redefining Priorities, Structure, and Culture

The purpose of this project is to advance the work I initiated within the Children and Youth (C & Y) Branch to: 1) reassess priorities for children's services through an outcomes oriented planning process that incorporates logic models as a guide to future direction and evaluation; 2) create an optimal organizational structure to meet identified needs; and 3) support the necessary cultural changes related to a successful and major restructuring.

Thompson, Dennis

Billing System Modernization

The purpose of this project is to transform the billing operations of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to a modern computerized system. This project, while it may have substantial initial costs, has the potential for cost savings for the Agency and to increase revenues.

Wittberg, Richard

Obesity Interventions Pilot Project  

Twenty-five adults and 25 10th and 11th grade high school students from Wood County, WV, will be selected from volunteers to participate in a year-long program to test the effectiveness of interventions on weight reduction. Participants will fall in the +35 BMI range. Interventions will include food diaries to be reviewed by dieticians, nutrition education, maintenance of walking logs, and group support. Incentives ranging from pedometers to good walking shoes will be given to those who maintain their participation. The effectiveness of the interventions will be measured quarterly (weight, blood pressure, BMI, blood sugar). It is hoped that successful conclusion of this pilot will enhance the ability of the health dept. to attract grant monies to make the program available to the general public.

Woodrum, Bonnie

Laying the groundwork for a Volunteers/Volunteer Agencies Cooperative in Randolph County , WV.

The purpose of this project is to gather and disseminate basic information about and to the volunteers/volunteer agencies of Randolph County , WV . This information will enable participants to have knowledge of resource assets available within the county. The process of producing the reference material will necessitate contact cooperation that will, hopefully, facilitate the beginning of a cooperative coalition between our volunteer organizations.

Wozniak, Art

Building Public Health Laboratory Infrastructure for Response to Emerging Infectious Diseases, Infectious Disease Outbreaks, Bioterrorism, and Other Emergencies of Public Health Importance.

The purpose of this project is to lead and engage in activities that will further build and enhance South Carolina 's public health laboratory infrastructure to better respond to emerging infectious diseases, infectious disease outbreaks, bioterrorism, and other emergencies of public health importance. This project aims to build laboratory infrastructure and response for biological agents that threaten public health. This project will not address building laboratory infrastructure for response to chemical and radiological agents.

Zhao, Guang

Developing DHEC Conceptual Architecture of Public Health Informatics (CAPHI)

The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a conceptual architecture of public health informatics toward improving health outcomes and public health preparedness in DHEC and in South Carolina.