The Establishment of the School of Public Health at the State University of New York,Downstate Medical Center: The First Nationally Accredited School of Public Health in a Public University in New York City |
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Authors: | Pascal James Imperato Judith H LaRosa Florence Kavaler Karen Benker Leslie Schechter |
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Institution: | (1) State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, School of Public Health, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA |
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Abstract: | The State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Medical Center initiated a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program
in July 2001 following planning efforts that began in 1995. Twelve students entered the program in June 2002, and currently
some 110 MPH students and 12 Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students are enrolled. This article describes the long and complex
process of transforming the original MPH degree program, with its single focus on urban and immigrant health, with a student
enrollment of 12 and 8 full-time faculty, into a school of public health with a large student enrollment of 122 students,
25 full-time faculty, five MPH degree tracks, and four DrPH degree tracks. The process of establishing the SUNY Downstate
School of Public Health in 2009 from its inception as an MPH program in 2001 spanned a period of 8 years. This process was
guided by a commitment to two basic principles. The first was to maintain the original 2005 program accreditation by the Council
on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The second was to sequentially secure accreditation for all subsequent four MPH and
four DrPH degree tracks through CEPH’s procedure of substantive change approval. This policy assured continuous national CEPH
accreditation of the original Urban and Immigrant Health MPH degree track and all added degree programs. The 5-year period
following the initial CEPH accreditation of the MPH program in 2005 was one of intense development during which all of the
essential elements for CEPH accreditation of a school of public health were put into place. This rapid development was made
possible by the vision and full support of Downstate’s president, John C. LaRosa, MD, FACP, and the dedicated efforts of many.
This included the students, faculty, staff, and administrators of the School of Public Health, the school’s Community Advisory
Group, several external advisors, and many in the medical center’s Central Administration, College of Medicine, School of
Graduate Studies, College of Nursing, College of Health Related Professions, and the University Hospital of Brooklyn. From
the very beginning of the planning phase for an MPH program and through the ultimate accreditation of the School of Public
Health in 2010, broad participation was solicited from all major units in the medical center. Thus, the MPH program became
a center-wide initiative and not merely that of the College of Medicine’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Community
Health. This broad participation has been continuously maintained through the involvement of leaders of other medical center
academic units and the University Hospital of Brooklyn in the program’s and then the school’s standing and ad hoc committees,
and in other activities as well. Similarly, community representation has been maintained, some through formal linkages relevant
to the practical field experiences required of all students. In October 2010, the Board of Councilors of CEPH accredited the
SUNY Downstate School of Public Health for a 5-year period through 31 December 2015. The accreditation of the school was a
major milestone for Downstate, Brooklyn, and New York City. The SUNY Downstate School of Public Health is the first CEPH accredited
school of public health in the history of Brooklyn, and only the second such school in New York City. It is also the first
CEPH accredited school of public health at a publicly supported university in New York City. The school has already had a
major impact on improving the health and well-being of the people of Brooklyn through its numerous collaborative community-based
health promotion and disease prevention programs. |
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