141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

284630
A practitioner's perspective on the Ohio consolidation quick strike study findings

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Matthew Stefanak, MPH , Health Commissioner (Retired), Mahoning County District Board of Health, Pulaski, PA
There has been an ongoing discussion about the benefits and challenges associated with local health department consolidation across the country. This discussion has led academics to research the process of consolidation to find out more about what motivates local officials to consider consolidation, what challenges they face in this process, and what potential benefits may be realized as a result of health department consolidation. Such research efforts have the potential to inform practitioners who are in the process of exploring or implementing a local health department consolidation. These research efforts can be even more successful when practitioners are engaged as a part of the research team.

This presentation will review the process of sharing the results of the Ohio Consolidation Quick Strike study undertaken by Kent State University and the University of Arkansas with the involvement of practitioners in Ohio. This presentation will also discuss how the findings can help inform practitioners and policymakers in their decision-making processes related to health department consolidation, and also how building collaborative relationships with academic institutions can provide ongoing support in this area. The presentation will also provide practitioners and academics in the audience an opportunity to discuss their experiences creating and sharing knowledge, and how those collaborative experiences may have been beneficial.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Explain how public health practitioners and policymakers can make use of the Ohio Consolidation quick strike study findings, and other research, to inform their decision making processes at the state and local level. Describe the process the project team is undertaking to share the results of the Ohio Consolidation Quick Strike study with practitioners in Ohio. Discuss the benefits of collaborations between local public health departments and academic institutions to help facilitate progress in the area of shared services and health department consolidations.

Keywords: Public Health Research, Public Health Administration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I served as the Mahoning County Health Commissioner (Ohio) for 24 years until 2012. During that time I negotiated two separate successful consolidations between the Mahoning County Health District and local city health departments. Since retirement I have worked with partners in academia to research issues related to public health management and health department consolidation. I earned my Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1985.
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.