173690 Assuring Local Public Health Leadership in Michigan

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 12:50 PM

Lynne Doyle, MPA, MA, LLP , Ottawa County Health Department, Holland, MI
Dina Kurz, MHSA , Office of Public Health Practice, Michigan Public Health Training Center, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Barbara Macgregor, RN , Bay County Health Department, Bay City, MI
Kimberly Singh, MA, CHES , Mid-Michigan District Health Department, Stanton, MI
Lisa Stefanovsky, M Ed , Ottawa County Health Department, Holland, MI
Donovan Thomas, MBA , Ottawa County Health Department, Holland, MI
Rashmi Travis, MPH, CHES , Allegan County Health Department, Allegan, MI
     
As part of a year-long leadership development program, six members of Michigan's public health workforce worked with a mentor (the cohort) to address the need for comprehensive public health leadership training in the state. Current training opportunities regarding public health leadership skill building are limited and not integrated into a single curriculum in Michigan.

While limited in scope and impact, the cohort planned a Leadership Symposium in conjunction with the annual conference of several state public health associations. The target audience for this training was leaders and emerging leaders within local public health in Michigan. The program was developed to provide participants with a personal skills assessment along with direction on how to use their influence and skills to affect change and build partnerships within and outside of their organizations.

The Symposium was deemed valuable by attendees, although not at full capacity. Barriers to attendance included additional time and expense, and a decline in overall conference attendance as compared to previous years.

The professional growth experiences of the cohort which developed the Symposium reinforce the need for opportunities for the workforce to develop and apply leadership skills. Several cohort members have subsequently used these tools in addressing continuous improvement projects in Michigan that will inform the Multistate Learning Collaborative. Additionally, these individuals have influenced a new team from Michigan to become part of the subsequent year's leadership development program. While change and acquisition of skills continues to be incremental, the need for an integrated approach to enhancing leadership in Michigan remains essential to the future success of public health in Michigan.

Learning Objectives:
Describe a process for developing public health leadership training Identify two critical components of leadership training Demonstrate how public health accreditation processes benefit from leadership development

Keywords: Leadership, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Lynne Doyle is a senior level manager at the Ottawa County Health Department with 12 years of diverse programming and health administration experience. Lynne was a 2007 Mid American Public Health Leadership Institute fellow and a co-author of the "Assuring Public Health Leadership in Michigan" symposium project. She has a Master's in Public Administration and a Master's Degree in Psychology.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Leadership Development Models in Public Health Practice Settings
See more of: Health Administration