Field Placement: California Department of Public Health: Environmental Health Investigations Branch
Location: Sacramento, CA
Preceptor: Deanna Rossi
Student Name: Jennifer Tang
Year: 2008

California Breathing (CB) is a public health program of California Department of Public Health’s Environmental Health Investigations Branch.  CB aims to reduce the burden of asthma in California and improve environmental conditions that affect people with asthma. 

CB activities include: developing and maintaining an asthma surveillance system for California, creating an infrastructure for a statewide partnership of asthma stakeholders (California Asthma Partners), administering programs to address asthma disparities, and conducting activities to improve asthma-related policies and practices in school and child care centers. 

For 10 weeks, from June 2008 to September 2008, I conducted my field studies assignment as a student intern at CB.  My preceptor and supervisor was Deanna Rossi, MPH, the Associate Director of CB.  The projects I was assigned allowed me to work with the entire CB team.  I developed a schools brief of the Strategic Plan for Asthma in California that summarizes the relevant objectives and strategies of the Plan that relates to schools and also provides examples and resources and suggestions of how to implement the strategies.  CB coordinates a grant program that provides funding for asthma-related projects throughout the state; I wrote an evaluation report on the effectiveness of the partnerships and impacts of past interventions (2005-2007) and also helped two 2008 grantees develop evaluation plans for their current projects.  In 2007 CB conducted a tool kit training for school nurses; I reviewed the 1-year follow-up surveys and wrote an analysis report based on the responses. 

Throughout my internship I was also able to take part in a number of community coalition meetings, conferences, lectures, and workshops.  This allowed me to appreciate how truly inter-connected so many different health issues are as well as observe how different agencies collaborate to set and accomplish shared goals.  My experience with CB has provided me with a great opportunity to see how public health operates at the state level.    

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