NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

HRTP: A Public Health Internship Program

by Sivali Bhandary

Background

The HRTP Public Health Internship Program is a summer internship program at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). Interns are given the opportunity to immerse in the field of public health work and problem-solving under the mentorship of experts and professionals in one of the largest public health agencies in the world. The program aims to orient interns to the principles and practices of public health through hands-on participation in the day-day operations of the department, planning, research, administration, and evaluation. Additional public health-relevant seminars, workshops, and activities serve to expand the understanding and scope of how public health workers help to promote overall health in NYC populations. The NYC DOHMH works to improve health outcomes for 8 million New Yorkers in the 5 boroughs of the city. Led by the Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, MD, Ph.D., the DOHMH’s work spans from maternal health to immunization, health inspection, communicable to chronic diseases, mental health, health justice, and access, among so many more.

My Role

Over the summer of 2022, I served as a Communications Intern for the HRTP program at the NYC DOHMH, specifically for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness division of the department. I worked with the Assistant Director of Communications at the Deputy Commissioner's Office, Krystle Edwards (pictured left-most), and grew a lot of important skills and insights under her mentorship. My role at DOHMH was very dynamic. I helped coordinate the high-scale planning of NYC Public Health Corps (PHC) anniversary events to honor community health workers involved in the PHC network in all 5 city boroughs (Queens, Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island). The NYC Public Health Corps was launched in 2021 by city Mayor Bill de Blasio to equip and expand the public health workforce to advance vaccine equity in the city during the COVID pandemic. The first-anniversary event was an initiative to celebrate the work and partnerships created by PHC to address the needs of New Yorkers in their COVID-19 pandemic recovery process. During my time at the DOHMH, I was able to support event planning by designing multiple drafts of event promotion content, managing invites to the community-based organizations (CBOs) in the network, creating itineraries for the recognition ceremony, and the fall festival at the event, collaborating with department representatives across bureaus for logistical set up at the events, conducting event site visits, digitally mapping out site set up, and contacting vendors, among many other things. The Public Health Corps (PHC) in Your Borough Event was held in September and successfully garnered a total participant engagement and turnout of over 1589.

Beyond this, I worked with my intern team to devise monthly division newsletters by collecting monthly updates from the various bureaus including the neighborhood action centers in Bronx and Brooklyn. I also developed some creative strategy for pop-up presence of the health department at city-wide events like Afropunk and for initiatives like Black Breastfeeding Week with the goal of promoting health equity and empowering public health access across communities in need. I got the opportunity to practice health equity- focused social media messaging for the Chief Medical Officer's Twitter aimed at healthcare providers surrounding topics like Monkeypox and Polio. Internally, we ran a photo shoot for the division to create an updated organization chart, attended and took notes at meetings, and helped plan the annual staff party, among other administrative things.

Conclusions

Through this internship, I was able to understand the structures, operations, and intricacies of health departments and explore the administrative side of public health. I learned a lot about public health challenges in NYC and was able to appreciate DOHMH’s role in managing the systems in community health that concern the health of all New Yorkers. My work in communications emphasized the importance of health messaging and how it can be used to increase health accessibility across vulnerable populations and address disparities. Scientific communication can be a powerful tool if it is presented to the target population in ways that are most accessible to them. I noticed myself being more analytical and observant of health promotion ads on subways, trying to break them apart to see what was being done well, whose eyes they would catch, what elements could be improved, and so on. Hence, this summer internship was a great intersection of my interests in human-centered design and science. I was able to bring in themes from classes at Macalester, my lived experiences of seeing public health in Nepal, and incorporate them into my internship experience. My mentor, coworkers, and all the public health professionals I crossed paths with had a lot of insights and knowledge to share which I valued a lot; I benefitted from having open discussions and discourse with them, and was able to expand my network in my field of interest. They encouraged me to go out into the city and explore, which not only helped me feel at home in an unfamiliar environment but also helped me apply public health theory to practice, bring more context to my workplace, and accommodate well to the NYC public health scene.

References

NYC Public Health Corps. Public Health Corps - NYC Health. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/neighborhood-health/public-health-corps.page

Sivali Bhandary

Hi! My name is Sivali. I'm a Neuroscience and Biology double major with a concentration in Community and Global Health. I grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal. During my time at Macalester, I have been heavily involved with the Entrepreneurship and Innovation department here, which led me to do a Live It Fund project surrounding menstrual hygiene awareness and education back home in Nepal. I was also able to participate in MacStartups and Macathon, am a facilitator for Asian Women of the Diaspora Collective and a co-captain for Club Tennis. Outside of school, I love playing soccer, being outdoors, indulging in creative activities and design projects, traveling, and exploring local coffee shops in the Twin Cities. I want to pursue a Masters in Public Health in the future and work internationally at some point in my life.

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