CRPHI Presents Work at National SOPHE Conference!

In April four members of the Collaborative for Rural Public Health Innovation (CRPHI) leadership team attended the National Society of Public Health Educators (SOPHE) conference in Long Beach, CA where they presented at a poster session about a partnership between Minnesota State University, Mankato's (MSU, M) Department of Applied Health Science and Health & Human Services of Faribault & Martin Counties which has expanded to support 25 counties across the South Central and Southwest Regions of Minnesota. 

Members were able to share with colleagues how a higher education - local public health relationship is beneficial for developing skills for the future workforce, sharing the benefits of working in rural communities and supporting critical foundational public health work in rural areas that lack sufficient staffing. Through this partnership, MSU, M faculty have modified coursework to support public health department needs and CRPHI established a dedicated paid internship program that allows students the opportunity to gain hands on experience. Examples of current projects include implementing data collection and analysis needs of local public health agencies, developing communications and educational materials to support key health priorities, developing communications campaigns to support awareness of key health issues such as mental health, measles or cannabis, researching best practices for implementing legalization of cannabis and development of a campaign to promote what public health does to keep communities healthy and safe each day.