Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has defined 10 Essential Public Health Services that are vital to maintaining community health. One of those 10 services is to “Assure a competent public and personal health care workforce.”

In order to achieve this goal, the Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute has been created. The institute will provide ongoing workforce and leadership development for public health professionals through programs such as internships, practicums, rotations/observations and residencies, public health education and training, and the creation of partnerships between public health agencies, the Kentucky Department for Public Health and universities.

The institute will be based out of the Northern Kentucky Health Department, and will be administered by Health Department staff.

The Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute will offer programs to ensure that public health workers have the training and opportunities that they need to provide the highest quality services to our citizens.

The goals of the institute include:

·        Promoting and engaging in scholarly research, policy development, strategic communications and career leadership development support

·        Identifying, cataloguing and sharing successful health leadership models

·        Influencing and enhancing health policy development

The institute will achieve these goals through career development, community service partnerships, research and continuous quality improvement.

The first focus of the Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute will be building relationships with universities to provide meaningful applied learning experiences to students interested in a career in public health.

Partnerships have already been established with several institutions, including the University of Cincinnati, the University of Louisville, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Kentucky, and other institutions will be approached.

The Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute is funded by the Health Department through general strategic planning funds. Grant monies will be pursued to provide funding for future initiatives.

Public Health degrees can lead to a variety of rewarding career choices. Click here to view a movie about careers in public health provided by the Association of Schools of Public Health.

For more information on the institute, please contact Louise Kent at 859.344.5474. If you are interested in an applied learning experience with the Northern Kentucky Public Health Institute, please complete this form.