Graduates will work in a variety of fields.
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Cesarina Thompson, dean of the School of Health Sciences at American International College. SPRINGFIELD - According to a 2012 Institute of Medicine report called “For the Public’s Health: Investing in a Healthier Future,” the U.S. lags in health outcomes, including overall life expectancy, in comparison with global counterparts.
Though the country outspends every other nation in medical care, the report explains that the lack of positive results is due to “the nation’s inadequate investment in strategies that promote health and prevent disease and injury population-wide.”
Cesarina Thompson, dean of American International College’s School of Health Sciences, hopes that the institute’s new Bachelor of Science degree in public health will help address area medical issues.
“The plan is to have a much bigger focus on preventative health, health promotion, disease prevention kind of activities,” Thompson said, “and that’s what public health professionals typically focus on.”
Currently, the only undergraduate and graduate public health degrees offered in Western Massachusetts are through the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
“(UMass’s) undergraduate program, they tell me, has grown to about 400 students,” said Thompson. “So there’s a big demand as people get to know more about health promotion and what it’s all about.”
So, what is it all about?
“Typically, not exclusively,” said Thompson, “ you come across nurses in a hospital setting when someone’s already sick and needs to get better.” In contrast, she explained, public health professionals prevent sickness by promoting health and providing education.
Thompson, a licensed registered nurse who has a doctorate in adult education and a master of science degree in nursing, credits the Affordable Care Act for the rise of health promotion.
“If you look at job ads,” she said, “companies are getting back to the health promotion activities. They’re hiring people to work as coordinators, health promotion coordinators, and that used to be, I think, more of a trend years ago.”
Now, Thompson, who was appointed dean last year, said, “We seem to be more in tune with health promotion kinds of things.”
In addition to health promotion coordinators, the long list of public health employees includes emergency responders, restaurant inspectors, scientists and researchers, social workers and nutritionists.
“There’s lots of different opportunities,” Thompson said, “and we’d also like to meet the needs of the Greater Springfield area that we serve.”
IThe degree’s internship requirement may give students the chance to delve directly into these area problems even before graduating.
The numerous community health centers, hospitals, non-profit agencies and even fitness centers in the area provide lots of opportunities, Thompson said.
Public health students are also required to choose a concentration within the degree. Concentration options are still in the development phase, though Thompson named wellness, health promotion and education as areas she and faculty have discussed. Global health and environmental health are other potential concentrations.
“Another area of demand,” Thompson added, “seems to be food inspectors, sanitarians and people that inspect restaurants, so that may be another area of concentration that we may look at.”
So far, the school has received several inquiries about the new major, but Craig Greenberg, the school’s director of public relations, said that it is still too early to determine enrollment numbers.
Thompson explains that because the program just obtained approval in March, its launch is off to a slow start.
“We’ve missed the recruiting season which would’ve been last fall,” she said, “so we’re really recruiting more for next year. But certainly, we’re able to take transfer students who may want to come in the spring, or even current students that may want to look into this as a major.”
Public health majors must complete 27-28 credits of public health specific courses. The course listing includes classes in global health, program planning and evaluation, epidemiology, public health policy and community health promotion, among others.
With the completion of an undergraduate program, students are able to obtain an entry-level job such as health promotion or community health center work, according to Thompson.
Those interested in public health research and policy development would have to advance to a graduate program.