University of Kentucky Collge of Public Health Magazine - Winter 2016

building health in the commonwealth winter 2016–2017

IN THIS ISSUE

editor Allison Elliott-Shannon contributors Donna Arnett, Dean Elizabeth Adams Shelley Ward

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10

BRIEFS

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

STUDENT PROFILES

additional content provided by Ty Borders Terry Bunn Steven Browning Kathryn Cardarelli Angela Carman Laverne Carter Sarah Cprek Beverly May Margaret McGladrey Lindsay Stradtman Nancy Schoenberg Robin Vanderpool Marilyn Underwood photography Justin Sumner UK Public Relations and Marketing design Serif Group Creative Marketing Agency To request additional copies or for questions or comments, contact allison.elliott@uky.edu or write to: UK College of Public Health 111 Washington Avenue Suite 212 Lexington, KY 40536 find us on social media Facebook @ukcph Twitter @ukcph Instagram @ukcph www.uky.edu/publichealth

06 UK ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STUDENTS JOIN STATE, COUNTY OFFICIALS IN RESPONSE TO ARSENIC CONTAMINATION

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12

MOUNTAIN AIR PROJECT

CENTER FOR RURAL AND UNDERSERVED HEALTH RESEARCH ESTABLISHED AT UK CPH

08 ACCESS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP EMPHASIZES PREVENTIVE CARE IN APPALACHIA

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE UK COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH:

S

ince becoming Dean of CPH in January 2016, I’ve been listening. I’ve listened to faculty and staff through meetings and town halls. I’ve listened to students and prospective students at preview nights and orientations. And I’ve listened to our alumni and friends when I’ve been privileged to meet you.

and impacting health screenings, risks, and environmental health in Kentucky.

All this listening has taught me that we are fulfilling our missions of teaching, research, and outreach every day. It also has made evident that even as a young college—reaching full college status within the University of Kentucky only in 2004—our rapid growth has led us to a time of redefining our mission and vision to guide our work into the rest of the 21st century.

Right now, we are engaged in an in-depth strategic planning process to update our vision and mission statements. Not just words on a page, our vision and mission are guiding documents for how we educate students, set and complete research goals, and work for the betterment of Kentucky and the world.

Focus groups including students, faculty, and staff have helped us better understand our purpose and strengths. By the next time this magazine appears in Spring 2017, I look forward to sharing with you our updated vision, mission, and plan for CPH.

One area of growth that has surged in recent years is the Bachelor of Public Health degree.

We admitted our first BPH candidates in 2014; undergraduate BPH and pre-BPH students now make up about half of our student body.

This fall, the college established the Center for Rural and Underserved Health Research.

The center is one of seven federally funded centers in the nation and will work to improve health services and systems in underserved areas of Appalachia.

In an environment of increasing competition for research and education funding, our work in all areas also is supported by valuable gifts from friends of the college.

Thank you for your continuing support of the College of Public Health. I’m glad to join you in our shared purpose.

Donna K. Arnett, PhD, MSPH Dean, UK College of Public Health

We make a difference in our communities, as you will see in this magazine—studying

winter 2016–2017 | university of kentucky college of public health [ 1 ]

student profile

KORI OTERO

BPH, December 2016 Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

UK College of Public Health Admitted Its First Students to the Bachelor of Public Health Degree in 2014 BPH and pre-BPH studies are now the most popular programs in the college. See how we’re growing the next generation of public health leaders.

BEST EXPERIENCES AT CPH: “My whole experience has been one that I can’t recommend enough,” said Kori. Among the highlights: she worked with Dr. Angela Carman and the Community Health Coalition in Ashland, Kentucky. She is now working with Dr. Nancy Johnson on a capstone project on mosquito-borne infectious disease. Kori is a CPH student ambassador and enjoys meeting and recruiting prospective students. Her goal is to help new UK students view the Bachelor of Public Health degree as a first-choice major.

FUTURE PLANS: Kori plans to pursue MPH and DrPH degrees. She would like to pursue either Epidemiology or Health Behavior. Kori plans to take her passion for public health into a career helping entire populations in need.

WHY UK CPH? Kori came to UK considering another health-related major. She took her first public health course to fulfill a requirement and learned that she loved the field dedicated to helping populations through prevention and intervention. “When I took CPH 201, taught by Sarah Cprek, I immediately filled out the application for the BPH program,” said Kori. “She made me fall in love with public health. I knew I wanted to help people. I took that first class and haven’t looked back since then.” Matching her enthusiasm with her hard work, Kori has maintained a straight-A average in all public health courses.

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student profile

ANGEL ALGARIN

MPH, Class of 2017 Hometown: Berlin Center, Ohio BEST EXPERIENCES AT CPH: During a practicum in the Dominican Republic, Angel made connections with public health professionals from across the globe, paving the way for future career networking. He gained a new perspective on the role of research in international relations, noting “research is part of diplomacy.”

Angel also was a recipient of a College of Public Health “Just in Time” grant to conduct research with MSM (men who have sex with men) populations in Kentucky. He worked under the mentorship of Dr. April Young, assistant professor in Epidemiology. Working with populations in Lexington as well as Rowan County, Kentucky, he says that the experience “taught me what it means to see a research project through” and “gave me the chance to do applied research in a rural setting, seeing a different way of life.”

FUTURE PLANS: Angel plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Epidemiology. His research interests are HIV, Latino populations, and MSM populations.

WHY UK CPH? A graduate of The Ohio State University, Angel looked at several MPH programs. What convinced him to choose UK CPH? “I remember receiving a personal call from Scot McIntosh, Director of Student Success, to encourage me to apply for a Lyman T. Johnson Scholarship.” Angel did receive a Lyman T. Johnson Scholarship to support his studies. “I don’t think I would have received the kind of care they gave to me here at any other school,” said Angel.

KIPRC Awarded $2 Million CDC Grant for Injury Prevention and Research “Over the next five years, the Kentucky Violence and Injury Prevention program will partner with a multitude of agencies and organizations to implement, evaluate, and disseminate evidence-based programs to prevent child abuse and neglect, traumatic brain injuries, motor vehicle injuries, intimate partner violence/sexual violence, and falls among older adults.” –dr. terry bunn, kiprc director The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health has received nearly $2 million for a five-year project to implement evidence-based programs to evaluate violence- and injury-related fatalities across the Commonwealth.

The competitive grant comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention. KIPRC is a partnership between the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health.

The funding will allow KIPRC to continue and enhance programs aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, traumatic brain injury, motor vehicle injury, and sexual assaults.

In 2014, Kentucky ranked fifth highest in unintentional injury fatality rate and twelfth highest in motor vehicle fatality rate in the nation.

In July 2016, KIPRC received $900,000 in supplemental funding for the Kentucky Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention Program.

Funds will enhance use of prescription drug monitoring through the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) integration.

With the supplement, the Kentucky Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention Program has received nearly $3 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The competitive grant was awarded by the CDC Core Violence and Injury Prevention Program.

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MOUNTAIN AIR PROJECT

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ural Appalachian residents experience the nation’s highest rates of serious respiratory illnesses, with Appalachian Kentuckian adults twice as likely as their national counterparts to be diagnosed with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To address the critical need to reduce respiratory illness in Appalachia, the UK College of Public Health has teamed up with long-standing community partners in a five-year study. The Mountain Air Project (MAP) utilizes a community-based approach to investigating why rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma are much higher in Appalachian Kentucky than in the rest of the U.S. and then uses evidence-based interventions to reduce the burdens of respiratory disease.

GOALS: The goal of MAP is to decrease the number

of emergency room visits, decrease hospitalization for asthma attacks, decrease the number of adults who develop respiratory illness, and improve quality of life for those with respiratory diseases. Partnering with community members, MAP investigators will implement a tailored intervention designed to decrease these medical visits and symptom days. The intervention will include self-management education, an adapted version of the Healthy Homes project, and smoking cessation. The study launched in 2015 and is set to run through the year 2020.

METHODS: The MAP team combines standard

epidemiological surveillance approaches with intense home environmental sampling to build a complete picture of the conditions affecting respiratory health for study participants.

Five interviewers are gathering health, environmental, and behavioral data from more than 1,000 participants. At least 80 homes are undergoing comprehensive environmental sampling. These combined approaches, along with clinical testing for COPD and asthma, will build a complete picture of the environmental, behavioral, sociodemographic, and health conditions affecting respiratory health in Appalachia.

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“Working with the multidisciplinary team on this project reminds me of the famous quote attributed to one of the leaders in Epidemiology, Reuel Stallones (Former Dean of the UT Houston School of Public Health): ‘If it isn’t fun, it isn’t epidemiology.’ We have had the opportunity to begin to address some interesting scientific questions while folding in a commitment to develop practical interventions for respiratory health. The excitement is watching the project unfold in unique and unanticipated ways.”

–dr. steven browning, co-principal investigator

“Community members want to improve their health and reduce their suffering.

We have the opportunity, through the generous support of the National Institutes of Health and our long history of working with community members, to make a real difference in people’s lives, using scientific principles and sustainable community engagement.“ –dr. nancy schoenberg, co-principal investigator

BY THE NUMBERS

440 20–79 42% 58% 51% PARTICIPANTS

AGES

MALE

FEMALE

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

26% 60%

COLLEGE GRADUATES

MARRIED OR PARTNERED

“EMPLOYED FULL TIME” AND “HOMEMAKER” MOST COMMON JOB CATEGORIES

PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS

KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR RESPIRATORY DISEASE  Smoking  Obesity  Home heating sources  Ventilation

HEALTH STATUS

24%

OF PARTICIPANTS CONFIRMED THEY HAD ASTHMA

 Mold exposure  Occupational hazards

Of these individuals, 24% of men and 35% of women reported an asthma attack in the past year.

HOME ENVIRONMENTS OF PARTICIPANTS

Most common self-reported asthma triggers:

97% have air conditioning 24% burn kerosene, coal, or wood for heat 23% of homes suffered water damage or mold in the past year

OCCUPATIONAL FACTORS AMONG 185 MALE PARTICIPANTS 55% with current or former employment in underground coal mining 36% with current or former employment in surface mining OTHER COMMON OCCUPATIONS: logging, milling, highway construction, and building construction

25%

OF MALE PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH BLACK LUNG

 Allergies  Cold/Flu  Tobacco Smoke  Household Dust

25%

OF PARTICIPANTS CONFIRMED THEY HAD COPD

These numbers may be lower than the actual rate of either asthma or COPD in the population, as many individuals reported breathing difficulties but had never been formally diagnosed by a health care provider.

Supported by a $2.5 million grant, “Community-Engaged Research and Action to Reduce Respiratory Disease in Appalachia” is funded by the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Grant Number: 1 R01 ES024771-01. Spearheaded by Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Steven R. Browning, Department of Epidemiology, and Dr. Nancy E. Schoenberg, Department of Behavioral Science, UK College of Medicine, and Associate Dean of Research in CPH, the project involves faculty and staff from a wide range of academic disciplines and community organizations.

The team includes: Susan Westneat, epidemiologist; John Flunker, environmental scientist; Lynda Charles, administrative support; Dr. Kathryn Cardarelli, Department of Health, Behavior & Society; Dr. Jay Christian, Department of Epidemiology; Nell Fields, Faith Moves Mountains, Letcher County; Dr. David Mannino, Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health; Beverly May, Department of Epidemiology; and Dr. Wayne Sanderson, Department of Epidemiology.

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BY ELIZABETH ADAMS

UK ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STUDENTS JOIN STATE, COUNTY OFFICIALS IN RESPONSE TO

ARSENIC CONTAMINATION

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esponding to an environmental health emergency requires public health workers to enter the field, work alongside community members, and educate residents about risk-reduction measures.

And, as a group of UK College of Public Health students learned on Sept. 7, sometimes fieldwork involves unusual tasks, such as asking a complete stranger for toenail clippings.

Armed with baby wipes and sterile toenail clippers, seven UK College of Public Health students went door to door interviewing and taking biological samples from Long Lane residents in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. They joined an emergency response team from the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Montgomery County Health Department after dangerous levels of arsenic were detected in the soil of the residential community. The interviews and samples were collected for an assessment of arsenic exposure levels and other health risk factors that public health officials must monitor in response to the residential contamination.

Previously, a manager from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) measured high levels of arsenic, a poisonous metal, in a sample taken from Long Lane. Public records showed that the residential area, classified

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by the DEP as a Superfund section, was the site of a wood treatment plant until the early 1990s. The wood was treated with arsenic for commercial use.

Local officials believe the former owner of the plant destroyed the facility and burned the supplies, contaminating the soil with high amounts of arsenic. The property was divided and sold as residential space in the 1990s, and many of the families residing on Long Lane have lived in the community for years, unaware of the presence of arsenic in the soil. Arsenic is a toxic metal associated with respiratory disease and cancers.

“Residents are very concerned about their health,” Jan Chamness, director of the Montgomery County Health Department, said. “They are wondering if it’s going to be safe to continue living here.”

The Kentucky Department for Public Health developed a questionnaire to collect demographic, behavioral, lifestyle and health history information from each resident through oral interviews. Students were paired with a state or county health department official to assist with conducting interviews and collecting samples.

Residents were asked to provide a sample of toenail clippings to be tested for arsenic exposure.

Dr. Wayne Sanderson, a professor of Epidemiology, Preventive

Medicine and Environmental Health and the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Centers for Disease Control-funded Education and Research Center (ERC) at the UK College of Public Health, supported the students’ work, and coordinated students’ participation in the emergency response in collaboration with local and state agencies. Jason Unrine in the UK College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment will lead the analysis of the nail samples.

Unrine, Sanderson, and students from both colleges then will assist with coding, analysis, and the drafting and editing of the final report. They will report the results of the analysis and tests to state officials, who will determine the appropriate response. While the students acquired hands-on experience on the frontlines of an emergency response, they also provided expertise, knowledge and resources to help an underserved community.

“I think it’s important for both our state and our university community to know we are people of service, and service is an important component of our training ground,” Sanderson said.

“This is clearly an important responsibility that falls to the state and county agencies, but it’s an opportunity for our students to learn and participate, and help and contribute.”

For many of the students, the project was their first experience working in the field during a real environmental health emergency response. Maria D. Politis, a second-year doctoral student, said participating in fieldwork allowed her to understand the impact of the arsenic contamination on families and individuals living in the community. Residents reported regular contact with the contaminated soil through gardening, yard maintenance, or playing with children. Many residents expressed concern for the children in the community.

“You really don’t know until you come out,” Politis said. “You’re seeing where they live and what they are going through. They do care about this issue, and they are also worried about their children.”

Student April Ballard said she was encouraged to see public health workers actively engaged in communities exposed to a health threat. Fieldwork was one of the aspects of environmental health that interested her in the public health profession. She said making people aware of the risk can help them monitor their health in the future.

“If anything, it’s just building awareness,” Ballard, an MPH student, said. “Public health always goes back to awareness and education.”

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ACCESS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP EMPHASIZES

PREVENTIVE CARE IN APPALACHIA

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ancer is a significant public health problem in Kentucky, with some of the highest rates of cancer incidence and mortality in the nation, keeping a firm foothold in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Beyond environmental and socioeconomic factors, issues of health care utilization present challenges to early screening and prevention. To help change the status quo in Appalachian Kentucky, the UK College of Public Health is partnering with community health clinics to give administrators, health care providers, and clinic staff sustainable tools and strategies to encourage cancer prevention and screening behaviors among their patients. The early results of the intervention are promising.

The Appalachian Center for Cancer Education, Screening, and Support (ACCESS) is an academic and community partnership between the UK College of Public Health and White House Clinics, a health care system with eight clinical sites in Appalachian Kentucky. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, the project aims to use existing primary care resources to promote cancer preventive services and achieve overall gains in population health.

Led by principal investigator Dr. Robin Vanderpool and co-investigator Dr. Angela Carman, with project coordinator Lindsay Stradtman and Stephanie Moore (picture on the next page), CEO of White House Clinics, the ACCESS project launched in September 2014.

Clinical implementation of the intervention began in January 2015.

With assistance from ACCESS, White House Clinics has integrated the Proactive Office Encounter (POE) model into their primary care practice. The POE model, originally designed by Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, is used to ensure that screening/preventive measures are proactively introduced at all health care appointments for all patients. Health care providers and clinic staff work with patients from the time they make an

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appointment, during their visit, and through follow-up to proactively encourage appropriate screening and wellness behaviors.

For example, a patient may see their health care provider for a regularly scheduled appointment to manage a chronic condition such as diabetes or asthma.

However, during the appointment, the health care provider also will review the patient’s risk factors and compliance with guideline-recommended cancer screenings that have been proactively documented by clinic staff. They then take advantage of the time with the patient to initiate preventive care—conducting a Pap smear or scheduling a mammogram, lung cancer screening, and/or colonoscopy. Although ACCESS focuses on cancer prevention, White House Clinics has expanded the protocol to cover other screenings and preventive care, including adult and childhood immunizations as well as hepatitis and HIV screenings.

The POE model allows providers and clinic staff to develop a tailored, evidence-based cancer preventive protocol for each patient. The ultimate goals of the POE intervention are to increase cancer screening rates, increase performance on related quality measures, increase patient/provider satisfaction,

“The patient stories create such momentum and keep our teams engaged in the effort. When you see patients successfully complete their cancer treatment with few complications because of an early diagnosis, that’s certainly motivating.”

–stephanie moore, ceo, white house clinics

close care gaps, decrease health care costs, and save lives.

“Our long-term goal is dissemination,” said Dr. Vanderpool.

“Right now, we are in eight clinics, but this model could be expanded to other health centers throughout the region and state. This project serves as an innovative model of adapting an intervention proven effective in a large, nationally recognized health care organization to fit the needs and culture of a rural health care system and federally qualified health center patient population.”

“A recent presentation of the POE project at the Kentucky Rural Health Association was met with enthusiasm from a variety of provider settings who are interested in increasing preventive care for their patients,” said Dr. Carman.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS Preliminary data from ACCESS were released in the November 2016 Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. Based on initial findings, the investi-

gators note that results suggest the implementation of POE may improve cancer screening rates and other health outcomes among White House Clinic’s patient population. They are optimistic about the future of academic-community partnerships to facilitate the translation of novel evidence- based programming into effective and efficient clinical and public health practice in rural communities.

“We are certainly elated with the improvements in care for our patients, but I’m also very encouraged by the changes this process created in our care teams. POE allows all members of the care team to realize the impact of their work on the outcomes of our patients.

Providers experience increased satisfaction because they spend more time educating patients rather than looking for information. Clerical staff completing the chart ‘scrubbing’ realize the information they give the clinical staff directly and immediately impacts patient care decisions. Our clinical support team feels a greater sense of

autonomy with the expanded clinical protocols that allow them to provide more care to patients prior to their encounter with the provider. Overall, it’s been tremendous to watch our teams rally together so passionately about the unified goal of increasing screening rates,” said Stephanie Moore.

The health care providers using POE give it high marks for the practical experience as well.

Says one White House Clinic physician involved with ACCESS: “[T]o me it’s a formalization of the whole process, it is timely and helpful and appropriate. I don’t enjoy the thought of providers who don’t have this opportunity.

I don’t want to think about not doing this without [POE]… It should be a standard, really.”

 Providers are more satisfied because they

spend more time educating patients.  Clerical staff realize the information they

give the clinical staff directly and immediately impacts patient care decisions.  The clinical support team feels a greater

sense of autonomy with the expanded clinical protocols that allow them to provide more care to patients.

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DONOR SPOTLIGHT Dr. James W. Holsinger, Jr. and Dr. Barbara Craig Holsinger

D

r. James W. Holsinger, Jr. and Dr. Barbara Craig Holsinger came to the University of Kentucky in 1994 when Jim was appointed Chancellor of the UK Medical Center. Prior to his appointment, they spent long careers in public service. Dr. James Holsinger served for 26 years in the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1990, the President of the United States appointed him as Chief Medical Director of the Veterans Health Administration and later Undersecretary for Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He served more than 31 years in the United States Army Reserve, culminating with his assignment to the Joint Staff as Assistant Director for Logistics for Medical support and his promotion to Major General. He retired from the United States Army Reserve in

1993. After serving for nine years as Chancellor of the UK Medical Center, in 2003 Governor Ernie Fletcher appointed him Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Since 2005, he has served as Professor of Preventive Medicine and Heath Management and Policy in the College of Public Health and held the Charles T. Wethington, Jr. Endowed Chair in the Health Sciences. Dr. Barbara Holsinger’s career includes extensive service to the United Methodist Church. In 2008, she retired as an adjunct professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, where she previously directed Mentored Ministry, Continuing Education, and Women’s Ministries. She holds a doctorate in Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. Together the Holsingers reared four daughters.

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THEIR SUPPORT The Holsingers have

supported the College of Public Health through regular giving as well as key gifts to specific endowments. They established the Stephen W. Wyatt Professorship in Public Health and have supported the Public Health Gift Fund. Describing themselves as “native Kentuckians by choice,” the Holsingers have been named Bowman Fellows in recognition of their support of the University of Kentucky.

WHY THEY GIVE “Education is a way

of life for us,” said Dr. James Holsinger.

Both Holsingers hold multiple graduate degrees, and their children have continued the family legacy of valuing education. The Holsingers see contributions to higher education, including the College of Public Health, as a way of living their values and leaving a legacy to enrich future generations.

Dr. F. Douglas and Phyllis Scutchfield

D

r. F. Douglas Scutchfield and Phyllis Scutchfield are an important part of the College of Public Health family. He is a 1966 alumnus of the UK College of Medicine. While in private practice in Morehead, Kentucky, he served as a Field Professor of Community Medicine for UK. He founded the department of Family and Community Medicine and became Associate Dean at the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, then became the founding director of the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University. He returned to UK in 1997 as the inaugural Peter P. Bosomworth Professor of Health Services Research and Policy. He then became the Founding Director of the UK School of Public Health. He was the Founding Director of the Center for Health Services and Research and Management and over his tenure held the titles of Chair of the Department of Health Services, Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, and Associate Dean of the UK College of Medicine. Phyllis Scutchfield is an accomplished attorney with a juris doctorate from the University of Alabama and a masters degree in tax law from the University of San Diego. They are both natives of Kentucky.

THEIR SUPPORT The Scutchfields have

supported the College of Public Health through regular giving as well as generous contributions to endowments and special projects. They have supported the Stephen W. Wyatt Professorship Fund, the College of Public Health Dean’s Fellowship Fund, the John Wiggs Public Health Student Endowment Scholarship Fund, and others. Phyllis Scutchfield gave generously to help create the F. Douglas Scutchfield Professorship Fund.

WHY THEY GIVE “I’m a great believer in higher education. My own research and reading has indicated that education is the most effective remedy for the health and social problems that afflict us on the local, state, national, and global levels,” said Dr. Scutchfield. As natives of Kentucky, the Scutchfields feel a strong drive to give back to the Commonwealth and the institutions that shaped them. They choose to do this by supporting higher education.

Dr. Scutchfield has announced his retirement from the university in January 2017, but plans to remain active in the field of public health and in the life of the College.

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CENTER FOR RURAL AND UNDERSERVED HEALTH RESEARCH ESTABLISHED AT UK CPH

A

new research center within the College of Public Health will investigate and inform health policies and services affecting impoverished rural communities around the nation. The Center for Rural and Underserved Health Research is situated to address health services and systems in impoverished and underserved areas of Appalachia.

Research conducted at the Center will expand the breadth of knowledge available about the organization, coordination, strategizing and efficiency of health services and policies in impoverished and underserved rural communities. The Center was founded with the objective of building a portfolio of translational research to inform and influence policy makers, managers, and other rural health stakeholders. The data collected by the Center will reach both local and national stakeholders.

Currently few research studies focus on health care delivery systems and policies in underserved rural areas of the U.S. Researchers within the Center aim to fill this gap in public health scholarship. Their studies will

“This center is focused on doing research on rural health issues, including how we can better organize care and improve access to services nationally.”

–dr. ty borders, director of the center and the foundation for

a healthy kentucky endowed chair in rural health policy

address topics including hospital and public health system collaborations, financial viability of rural hospitals, patient-centered medical care and treatment, and the impact of the Affordable Care Act. While the Center is located within the College of Public Health, it represents a multidisciplinary collaboration among Kentucky health researchers and experts. Researchers from the College of Pharmacy, College of Agriculture, and the College of Medicine will contribute to research projects. The Center also will work in conjunction with the American Board of Family Medicine, which is headquartered in Lexington.

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BY THE NUMBERS

The Center for Rural and Underserved Health Research

$2.8 MILLION funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Health Research Center Cooperative Agreement grant program

1 OF 7 federally funded centers in the nation dedicated to health policy and services research in rural populations

$700,000 the award will provide annually in funding to operate the center for four years

U

pon arrival a few months ago, I began assessing accomplishments in the College of Public Health over the past few years. I have been impressed with the educational, research, and outreach programs being offered, as well as the amazing work conducted by many of our alumni.

Your gifts sustain these programs and our mission.

Those who support the College of Public Health are the fuel to educate and sustain future generations of public health researchers, educators, public servants, and health care professionals. Our faculty’s commitment to teaching and mentoring students provides an exceptional education with experiences beyond the classroom, all made possible due to those who pay it forward.

We are moving steadily ahead and making great strides, but there is still much work to be done. As the College grows, it’s imperative that we have alumni and friends join us in the endeavor. We are training the future leaders and researchers in public health; therefore, supporting the College of Public Health is not only an investment in students. It’s an investment in the future of the Commonwealth and the world.

Providing the best experience and training can only happen with a strong foundation. The ability to offer scholarship opportunities for deserving students, recruit the best educators, and provide exceptional educational opportunities is based on ongoing support.

We have a clear vision for the future and are asking you to help in making the University of Kentucky College of Public Health one of the best colleges of its kind in the nation. Together we can provide opportunities for those who will implement change that will be instrumental in the health of future generations.

 EDUCATION  RESEARCH  SERVICE

Dear Alumni, Friends, and Supporters:

We ask you to join us.

Sincerely, Shelley Ward Director of Philanthropy Shelley.Ward@uky.edu • www.uky.edu/publichealth/giving

Your gift makes it all possible!

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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 51 LEXINGTON, KY

College of Public Health University of Kentucky 111 Washington Avenue Lexington, KY 40536

www.uky.edu/publichealth An Equal Opportunity University

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