NWCPHP collaborates with the newly branded Public Health Learning Network to strengthen the technical, scientific, managerial, and leadership competence of public health professionals.
In today's rapidly changing health landscape, public health professionals are faced with evolving roles and activities, new partnerships, and ever-shrinking resources. Despite these changes, the responsibility to protect the public's health continues unabated. Global pandemics, chronic disease, and community violence act as constant reminders of the need for a well-trained, well-prepared public health workforce.
A regional public health training center since 2000, NWCPHP knows how training plays a vital role in preparing public health professionals for the new demands of today's world. In 2014, the Health Resources and Services Administration reconfigured the Public Health Training Center Program under new funding, creating a national network of 10 regional public health training centers, 40 local performance sites, and a National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training. This network, recently named the Public Health Learning Network, is working to ensure that public health professionals have the right skills needed to rapidly respond to the nation's ever-evolving health needs.
The Public Health Learning Network, which is the nation's most comprehensive system of public health educators, experts, and thought leaders, will:
- Offer high-quality, free, adaptable, and easy-to-access training tools available online and in-person.
- Advance public health practice by enabling the sharing of best practices among public health training centers across the US.
- Improve population health through skills-based training and ongoing research in communities across the United States, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and US territories.
"The unique structure of the Public Health Learning Network allows our NWPHTC to better coordinate workforce development on a national level, yet stay connected to our local roots and partners," said NWCPHP Director Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, RN. "By using the network, state and local health departments will have access to a broader range of emerging and innovative content. It will be easier to find high-quality, evidence-based training to meet workforce development needs."
What is distinct about the PHLN is its long-standing relationship with learners and partner organizations within communities, coupled with a national presence that offers cohesive and rigorous development and delivery of education and knowledge sharing across the country. For more information, visit the Public Health Learning Network and the Northwest Public Health Training Center.