Center for Health & Research Transformation (CHRT)
Bridging Gaps within Healthcare
By Iridiana Magaña
Future Public Health Leaders Program
The FPHLP summer program is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (CUPS) program. The goal of the CUPS programs is to prepare a diverse body of students to consider futures in public health in order to improve the field and create a diverse and better trained public health team. FPHLP (pronounced "flip") encourages students to pursue a career in public health by providing leadership training, an introduction to the various public health disciplines, internship experience, and community service events. A key component of the program is public health and career mentorship. Students get grouped into clusters of approximately 10 individuals and two mentors who are in different public health sectors. In addition to the cluster mentors, students have field site advisors who guide you in understanding a specialty in public health, say healthcare policy, through hands-on work. For my field site experience, I worked with the Center for Health & Research Transformation (see below). Lastly, during the last week of the program, students travel to Atlanta, GA to visit the CDC, meet other CUPS participants, attend roundtables with public health professionals, and present on their field placements.
Summer 2019 FPHLP scholars, University of Michigan – School of Public Health
Program Components
Mentorship
Curriculum
Community Service
Research Project
Field Experience
Field Placement Site
Center for Health & Research Transformation
Ann Arbor, MI CHRT is a non-profit organization that aims to advance health care delivery, the health of the population, and access to care. As a summer FPHLP intern at CHRT I worked with the Washtenaw Health Initiative (WHI) team. The WHI is a program guided by CHRT whose mission focuses on improving healthcare in Washtenaw County with an emphasis on the low-income, uninsured, and Medicaid populations. I had the opportunity to collaborate with several WHI project teams. Although the projects varied from topics, they all shared a similar theme – enhancing the health of communities.
Projects
Medicaid Enrollment, Eligibility & Outreach (MMOE)
Increase awareness and knowledge of health insurance coverage options for which people might be eligible under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Opioid Project: Opioid Provider Survey
Engage in qualitative analysis for the WHI Opioid Provider Survey to identify and to understand the challenges faced by medical providers when providing opioid related care.
State Innovation Model
Enhancing care coordination and addressing social determinants of health.
Community Care Coordination Intervention: Reducing and preventing high-utilization of the emergency department by addressing social needs through enhanced care coordination.
Outputs and Skills
Throughout my 8-week internship at CHRT I gained valuable skills that will guide me through my career.
Action Planning Budgeting
Census Mapping Critical Thinking
Qualitative Analysis Decision Making
Social Media & Graphics Task Management
What I Learned
Team-based learning and multidisciplinary approaches to address health equity
The role of stakeholders and their influence within health programs and interventions
Understanding how social determinants of health affect individual health outcomes
The interconnections between many career disciplines and Public Health
The importance of organizational collaboration within communities
Reflection
I am grateful to have worked with CHRT. This opportunity has allowed me to meet many Public Health professionals while learning more about the field. Understanding how social work, policy, and finance work together brings insight to the many perspectives one can come from when addressing the social determinants of health. FPHLP made we discover that I wanted to follow both a public health and medicine career path. This program encouraged me to never forget who I am and where I come from. It added great value to my remaining time at Macalester, as I was able to apply what I learned throughout the program into my classes, volunteer work, and internships. When you are in a room full of individuals who share common drive, values, and aspirations, you perceive that together you can help end health disparities and begin to bridge those gaps.
Iridiana Magaña
Hello, my name is Iridiana Magaña, I'm a graduating senior majoring in Biology with a Community and Global Health concentration. I call the south side of Chicago home, where I hope to take back skills learned in undergrad to help create public health interventions in my community. My long term goals are to attend medical school, serve the Chicago community, and improve access to maternal health services in rural communities of Mexico.