Field Placement: Long Beach Health Department of Health and Human Services
Location: Long Beach, CA
Preceptor: Cheryl Barrit, Prevention Service Officer
Student Name: Mercedes Pérez
Year: 2003

The Partnership for the Public's Health is a four-year effort to engage local citizens in community based planning for health improvement. This statewide program funded by The California Endowment, attempts to build new partnerships between local health departments, citizens and community based organizations. The Long Beach Health Department was selected as one of 14 health departments in the state for this partnership effort. The Long Beach Partnership for the Public’s Health is comprised of the Long Beach Community Health Council, The Children's Clinic, Community Partners Council and the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, all located in Long Beach. This partnership has both helped train local residents about the public's health and spearheaded initiatives that attempt to address and find solution to pressing community health issues.

The Health Leadership Training (HLT) Program has been the most successful aspect of the Long Beach Partnership. The Health Leadership Training program is a year long training program for local residents who are dedicated to gaining practical skills they can use to make public health improvements in their neighborhoods. The goal of the training is to increase public health awareness, build community leadership and foster a sense of shared leadership/shared responsibility.

As a PPH intern, I primarily worked on the HLT guide and PPH related projects. I evaluated the existing HLT curriculum template, identified areas for improvement and drafted needed background information on the topics presented. In addition, I also conducted extensive research in order to strengthen the knowledge and skills based sections and activities of the guide. I was also responsible for drafting an evaluation component in a form of a quiz at the end of each section in order to assess how much participants understood and retained from the workshop.

In addition to working on the HLT guide, I also had the opportunity to work on various projects in the Preventive Health Bureau. I assisted in writing a grant proposal, drafted a Hepatitis C Policy Brief for the Bureau Managers and located speakers to give professional developing trainings to the entire Health Department Staff. Overall, my internship at the Long Beach Health Department afforded me with the opportunity to grow professionally and add skills to my public health portfolio. My preceptor Cheryl Barrit, Prevention Service Officer was great in delegating challenging projects and providing constructive feedback.

Back to CHS Field Studies Placement Index | Back to CHS Field Studies | Back to Field Studies Home