The New England Public Health Training Center (NEPHTC), which is housed in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the School of Public Health, has received renewed funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The center has held the grant since 2000.

Under the direction of Patricia Janulewicz, principal investigator and associate professor of environmental health, this new $3.7 million award will be used over the next four years to support NEPHTC’s mission to strengthen the public health workforce across New England and nationally through assessments, tailored training programs, and student field placements.

“It means a lot to NEPHTC to continue to receive this essential funding, and it is my distinct honor and privilege to now be leading the center in continuing their great work,” says Janulewicz, recognizing the legacy of the previous SPH faculty members who were PIs for NEPHTC, including Kathleen MacVarish, Anne Fidler, Harold Cox, and Daniel Merrigan. “I believe my colleague Betty Bekemeir, a PI within the Regional Public Health Training Center (PHTC) Network, described refunding at this point in our country’s public health history best. She said, ‘As long-standing public health training center[s], we support the public health professionals working hard to address issues that are critical and unique to their communities. [We] were here before the COVID-19 pandemic, and we [will be] here going forward to help advance the public’s health.’”

The most recent grant cycle brought an increased interest in building diversity within the public health workforce, and NEPHTC will be using a portion of the new funds to invest more energy in developing stipend applications for student field placements that allow them to reflect on their own diverse backgrounds. They hope that by prioritizing diversity in their application process, students will be encouraged to express why their diverse experiences and perspectives are valuable to their placement agency.

NEPHTC will also be working to strengthen their collaboration with the New England Rural Health Association, where they are hoping to leverage the center’s resources and capabilities to better support rural health in New England. In 2021, NEPHTC helped conduct a needs assessment on rural health in the region, and they are currently working on a new project to enhance primary care leadership in rural health, which is set to launch in 2023.   

At its core, NEPHTC is a partnership-driven organization, with much of their work being done in deep collaboration with other schools of public health, public health associations, and community-based organizations across the New England states. The funds will allow them to continue to foster and support these partnerships in the region, while also expanding their reach and collaboration within the PHTC Network nationally.

The center is increasingly presenting their work to national associations and organizations, and has developed their own nationally-recognized resources for public health professionals across the country to utilize. These include an agenda for systems change for public health and a racial justice competency model. NEPHTC also continues to have their trainings featured on the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Learning Connection website, which offers continuing education opportunities for public health professionals.

“It is incredibly meaningful to have kept this grant for over 20 years, as there is plenty of competition for it,” says Karla Todd Barrett, senior program manager and training specialist, and a co-writer of the recent grant application. “I am grateful every day to our small team in the Department of Community Health Sciences here at SPH, as well as our Massachusetts training partners, the School Health Institute for Education and Leadership Development (SHIELD) and the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts, for their incredible commitment to the public health workforce. Supporting the workforce through the turbulence of the past few years has been an honor for our staff, and we look forward to continuing this support in the years to come.”