FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER @EKUPUBLICHEALTH 2015-2016

EKU Public Health

2015-2016

What’s Been Going On

EKU Public Health and Recreation & Park Administration students had a friendly competition to see which department could collect the most non-perishable food items. Food items were donated

to the Colonel’s Cupboard to help EKU students in need.

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 2

On September 15, 2015 The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP)

held a community wide emergency preparedness event. The CSEPP event simulated a chemical accident at the Bluegrass Army Depot. Several central Kentucky emergency management, fire, police and EMS agencies, hospitals, schools and community members also participated. The goal for CSEPP event was to test the readiness of Central Kentucky in the event that an actually emergency happened.

During the CSEPP event real time weather conditions such as wind direction were used to make decisions about the affected areas also known as zones. Community agencies, organizations, shelters, traffic control points, citizen relocations routes, and decon sites were also put into action and tested.

Masters of Public Health students Jordon Tate and Amber

Broaddus volunteered and assisted as communication and information officers. Their duties included recording and

logging important information that was communicated to the press, government personnel, emergency responders, and CSEPP. They were also responsible for data entry of traffic control points, decon sites, relocation routes, request for support from different organizations, emergency management and first responders. Both students highly recommend other students to participate with future CSEPP events. Not only did they have the opportunity to gain real life experience, they also were able to network with other professionals.

CSEPP Community

Event

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 3

WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN UP TO

Several members of EKU Student KPHA Chapter received training to become members of the 2015 Kentucky Public Health Assistance Support Team (K-PHAST). K-PHAST is a team of volunteers who will be on stand-by to respond during Public Health emergencies or assist on special projects at state and/or local levels. Initial training for these students was held on April 10, 2015. Students received instruction on the Incident Command System (ICS) structure, survey design, HIPAA, and basic applied epidemiology.

EKU Chapter Wins Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) Award

At the annual KPHA meeting that was held in Owensboro, KY during the week of April 11, 2016 EKU’s chapter of KPHA placed second for the KPHA Student Chapter Award. The chapter was awarded $300 for events for the upcoming year.

After graduating in 2015 with his Bachelor’s Degree

in Public Health, Chase Barnes moved to Belize to

be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Chase states that

working as a Rural Health Educator in a small

village has opened his eyes to challenges that can

come from having limited resources. Chase spends

his work time assisting Community Health Workers

at the Village Health Clinic and has been teaching

sections of the Health and Family Life Education

curriculum at the Government Primary School.

Chase states that his degree in Public Health was

very beneficial in how he approaches health at an

international level. Chase says “As a student and

now graduate, the support from the professors in

the Public Health Department at EKU were

remarkable, while being something that I will be

forever grateful for.”

Our students participated in the National Public

health week during April. Eta Sigma Gamma

members delivered items such as fruit, sunscreen,

and lip balm to faculty members to highlight public

health. ESG member’s also informed EKU students

about alcohol use, blood pressure, tobacco use,

and nutrition.

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Tori Caldwell was awarded the Gilman

International Scholarship last year to study

abroad to Tanzania. Tori stated that by living

and learning in a vastly different environment

has exposed her to an enriching social and

cultural experience. While abroad she took a

Maternal and Child Health Class to gain a better

understanding of the care that is provided

during pregnancy in Tanzania. Tori also stated

that even though at times she was nervous

being outside of her comfort zone that this

experience helped her grow as a student and as

an individual.

At this years STEM-H, EKU Health Promotion

and Administration talked to high school

students about careers in Health Servvices

Administration and Public Health. The students

also had the opportunity to play disease

detectives and find the cause to a mysterious

outbreak.

KPHA members and PH students collected

enough gloves, hats and socks to fill over 150

backpacks for homeless men, women and

children

Students from the Applied Epidemiology class

(HEA 856) attended the Epi Rapid Response

Team Refresher Course/Tabletop Exercise held

at the KCTCS Versailles Conference Center in

Versailles, KY on April 28. Students worked in

teams along with epidemiologists, nurses, and

environmentalists from across the state to

uncover the solution to a mock outbreak

investigation. Working in teams and with other

Public Health professionals gave students a

chance to network while practicing skills

learned in the class.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER @EKUPUBLICHEALTH 2015-2016

Jordon Tate is currently in her last

semester of the Master of Public

Health Program. She has been a

Graduate Assistant with the Health

Promotion and Administration

Department since August 2014. As an

undergraduate, she received her

Bachelors of Science in Public Health

May of 2014. This summer Jordon

will be interning with the VA in

Lexington and hopes to begin her

professional career in a non-profit

organization.

Amber Broaddus has been a

Graduate Assistant with Health

Promotion and Administration since

August 2015. Amber graduated with

her Bachelor of Science in 2015 and

is currently finishing her first year in

the MPH program. This summer

Amber will be doing her MPH

practicum at the Kentucky

Population Health Institute and

Kentucky Department for Public

Health with the Environmental

Public Health Tracking Network.

Amber is interested in both

community health and

environmental health. Amber says

that her future goals in public health

are “to be a regional or stat

epidemiologist and a public health

rock star!”

Amber Hoskins has worked for the

Health Services Administration

program since the spring of 2012.

She will be graduating in December

with a degree in Special Education,

LBD with a concentration in

Elementary Education. Amber

stated that “I have learned so much

from the faculty and thank them for

the opportunity to work in the

department for as long as I have.”

Congrats Amber!

Meet our 2015-2016 Graduate Assistants and Student Worker

Public Health Majors (sisters) Highlighted in EKU Stories

Cara & Tara Johnson, Public Health majors from Berea, KY were highlighted in an EKU Stories article. Click on the link to access the

article.

http://stories.eku.edu/people/cara-tara-johnson

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 6

Faculty News

Dr. Michelyn Bhandari

Associate Professor

Dr. Michelyn Bhandari has been a professor at EKU for 12 years. Some of the courses she has taught are HEA 455, HEA 420, HEA 460, HEA 480W, and HEA 490. Some of her most memorable teaching moments include taking students to various advocacy days in Frankfort and connecting students with internships that lead to jobs in public health. Dr. Bhandari says that the most memorable teaching moments occur when she hears from alumni of the program and they tell her how they are using the skills that they learned in her class. Some of her hobbies include serving as a Girl Scouts co-leader and team manager of a soccer team. Dr. Bhandari also enjoys traveling around the region watching both her son and daughter play soccer and basketball. Thank you for all you do!

New Faculty - Julie Lasslo

Ms. Julie Lasslo, assistant professor, joined the faculty in August 2015. Ms. Lasslo is an EKU alumus completing her B.S.(2007) and MPH (2011). She is currently working on her doctoral degree at the University of Kentucky. Prior to accepting the position at EKU, Ms. Laslo was on the faculty at Berea College. Prior to this, she worked as the Kentucky Safe Aging Coalition Coordinator, Kentucky Department of Public Health and The Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center. In addition, she also worked as the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Writer/Investigator at the Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center. Some of the

courses she taught this year were HEA 290, HEA 310, HEA 316, and HEA 480W. Ms. Lasslo will also be presenting at an international conference in Japan during June 2016.

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 7

Photos on this page, left to right by row:

1- Tori Caldwell presenting at the Capitol Students Members of Eta Sigma Gamma

2- Members of Eta Sigma Gamma

3- Public Health Students at the Latino Health Fair

4- 2016 Graduating class

5- MPH students presenting at KPHA

6- ESG Members “Healthy Halloween” event

Photo Gallery

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 8

Scholarly Pursuits Gallery

Photos on this page, left to right by row:

1. MPH Alumnus Young Rock presenting his research “"Health Outcomes and Access to Care

According to Type of Insurance Coverage: Implications for the Affordable Care Act” at APHA

annual meeting in Chicago

2. MPH Alumnus Stephanie Smith presenting her research “ Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening

Program: Identification of Risk Factors to Target a Screening Population”

3. Professor Carolyn Jauco-Trott presenting at KAHPHERD

4. Dr. Schwartz presenting the results of her research at the 2015 American Public Health

Association annual meeting in Chicago.

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 9

Photos on this page, top to bottom:

1. Professor Molly McKinney presenting at APHA

2 &3. Professor Carolyn Jauco-Trott taking the lead on the Governor’s Proclamation Day to discuss

AMTA-KY’s National Massage Therapy Awareness Week.

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 10

EKU College of Health Sciences Scholar’s Day

Public Health was well represented at the 2nd Annual EKU College of Health Sciences Scholar’s Day at

the EKU Center for the Arts. Provided below are photos of some of our students.

Petronala Muga presenting poster at CHS Scholar’s Day

Kristen Hendricks and Dr. Holcomb presenting poster at CHS Scholar’s Day

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 11

DEPARTMENT NEWS

2016 Outstanding Student Awards The following students were honored at the Student Awards Ceremony on May 13, 2016.

Congratulations to our students receiving awards. We are very proud of your hard work!

Outstanding Public Health Research Award: Kristin Hendricks

Outstanding Graduate Student in Public Health Award: Karen Gilbert

Outstanding Graduate Public Health Service Award: Jordon Tate

Outstanding Senior in Public Health Award: Emily Cravens

Outstanding Junior in Public Health Award: Rachel Atwood

Outstanding Leadership in Public Health Award: Rebecca Smith

Outstanding Service in Public Health Award: Mackinzie Houston

CHS Dean’s Award Nominee: Lindy Darnell

Congratulations to Young-Rock Hong, (MPH Alumnus) Dr. Holcomb, Dr. Ballard, and Dr. Schwartz for

having their manuscript accepted for publication in the Journal of Healthcare Management. The title

of the manuscript is Path Analysis on the Influence of Health Service Quality by Different Health

Insurance Types.

Congratulations to Dr. Phyllis Bryden and Molly McKinney for having their article “Non-Instructional

Cell Phone Use In College Classrooms: Is Addiction to Blame” being published in the Spring 2016

edition (Volume 53,Issue 2) of the KAPHERD Journal.

Congratulations to Young-Rock Hong (MPH alumnus), Dr. Holcomb, Dr. Bhandari and Dr. Larkin for

having their manuscript accepted for publication in BMC Health Services Research. The title of the

manuscript is “Affordable Care Act: Comparison of healthcare indicators among different insurance

beneficiaries with new coverage eligibility”.

Publications

New Department of Health Promotion & Administration Phone Number is

(859) 622-1915

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 12

3+2 DUAL DEGREE UPDATE

This time last year, we reported on the newly approved 3+2 dual degree that allows students to complete their B.S. degree and MPH degree within 5 calendar years because of the accelerated curriculum and 9 semester hours of 800-level graduate coursework will apply to both the undergraduate B.S. degree and the graduate MPH degree. Currently there are 11 students enrolled in the program during its first year. For more information, contact Dr. Michelyn Bhandari at Michelyn.bhandari@eku.edu.

NEW PRE-PROFESSIONAL CONCENTRATION APPROVED, STARTS FALL 2016

Students who complete the Pre-Professional Concentration receive training in Public Health along with

preparation for professional health-related graduate programs such as medicine, dentistry, osteopathy,

veterinary medicine, or physician assistant.

CEPH Accreditation

Our Bachelor of Science in Public Health and

the Master of Public Health degree programs

are accredited by the Council on Education

for Public Health (CEPH). EKU has the only

CEPH accredited undergraduate program in

the state.

Eta Sigma Gamma – Beta Chapter.

Did you know EKU has the 2nd oldest Eta Sigma Gamma Chapter in the U.S.? We are the Beta Chapter of the National Health Education Honorary.

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 13

In the fall 2014, the Madison County Health Department reached out to the Health Promotion and Administration Department to assist with the needs assessment that was going to be conducted. Several faculty members and the current Graduate Assistants reviewed and made revisions to the survey that was going to be conducted among Madison County Residents. Once gathering the survey’s Jordon Tate and Stephanie Smith would enter the responses online for analyzes. After the data was analyzed, a community meeting was held to discuss the findings with community leaders and stakeholders. During the meeting, stakeholders identified what they believed to be the biggest concern in Madison County and brainstormed programs that would be beneficial in the future.

In the spring of 2015, the Madison County Health Department reached out again to the department for assistance with a grant the health department had received for targeting risky pedestrian and motorist behaviors. One of the main strategies of this campaign was having educating the public about it by having numerous flyers being handed out to local businesses in Madison County. The Campaign’s slogan “Oh Cell No!” has also been at several locations on EKU’s Campus. The campaign’s slogan was targeting texting while driving and crossing the road. The campaign was developed by senior public health students in one of their classes when discussing marketing. The class made revisions and then sent the top three slogans to the health department for them to decide on which to use. The pedestrian safety campaign was implemented in October 2015. Before the program was implemented pre-observations were gathered in May 2015 by current MPH and public health students. Post observations were collected in November 2015. Once data was gathered, Jordon Tate analyzed the responses using Chi Square to determine pre verses post campaign differences. The results indicated that there was a significant reduction of pedestrians and motorists who used their cell phone while either crossing the road or while driving.

Madison County Health Department Partnership

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 14

ALUMNI CORNER

Follow us on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/EKU-Health-Promotion-Administration-HPAD and on

Twitter @EKUPublicHealth to stay updated on more current news and events happening within our department.

Don’t forget to check out our Department

Website: http://healthed.eku.edu/

Contact Information:

Dr. Michael Ballard

Department Chair Office: (859) 622-1916

421 Begley Fax: (859) 622-2916

Eastern Kentucky University Email: Michael.ballard@eku.edu

521 Lancaster Avenue

Richmond, KY 40475

Alumni, we want to hear from you! Please provide us with updated information!

Name: _______________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ________________________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________________________________

Current Place of Employment: _____________________________________________

Thank you!

Congratulations to our recent graduates on their new jobs!

Letter from the Department Chair

EKU PUBLIC HEALTH | Issue 2015-2016 15

Greetings Public Health alumni, students, and friends. It has been an extremely busy and exciting 2015-2016 academic year. It is truly amazing to note the many accomplishments of our outstanding students and faculty.

During the past year, our Public Health program has continued its significant growth. Our number of majors in the undergraduate and graduate programs totaled 187 in the spring semester. Students are excited about the Public Health field, and the diversity of job opportunities in the field. In our first year of offering the 3+2 accelerated degree program, we have already enrolled 11 students in this option. We also anticipate great interest in our newly approved Pre-Professional Concentration. Students who complete the Pre-Professional Concentration receive training in Public Health along with preparation for professional health related graduate programs such as medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, veterinary medicine, or physician assistant.

I hope you enjoy reading about some of the activities during the past year and seeing students engaged in a variety of educational, research and service projects. Please follow us on Twitter @EKUPublicHealth or Facebook (EKU Health Promotion and Administration) to keep up to date on activities or job opportunities throughout the year.

In closing, please keep in touch with us. We appreciate hearing where you are and the great things you are doing in the field. In addition, I would be remiss if I did not say thank you again to all those that contributed to the department last year financially, or served as a guest speaker, or serving on one of our workgroups. We could not do it without your contributions and willingness to serve, and provide real-world experience for our students.

Please note that the department has a new phone number. If you need to reach us, our new departmental number is 859-622-1915.

Respectfully,

Dr. Ballard

In this Issue:

What’s Been Going on? 1

What our Students Have Been

Up To 2

Meet Graduate Assistants 5

Faculty News 6

Photo Gallery 7

Scholarly Pursuits 8

Department News 11

Alumni Corner 14

7 Departmental