The University of Arizona has won two federal grants to start two public-health training centers.
Hundreds of people will get free job training through the new centers at the UA's Zuckerman College of Public Health.
Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center
• What it is: One of 14 regional centers
nationwide, serving Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and many tribes.
• The money: $4.7 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• The leader: Professor Jeff Burgess, whose background is in emergency medicine.
• Trainees: Mid-career public-health professionals will get free online training as part of a national security initiative. They could learn to create effective plans to deal with flu outbreaks, for example.
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• He said it: "You never know exactly what kind of disasters may come, but the whole point of this is these are events that strain our resources," Burgess said. "... If you don't have a plan, if you don't have the resources and the knowledge to respond effectively, you won't be able to serve the public adequately."
Arizona Public Health Training Center
• What it is: A center to assess and deliver training needs for Arizona workers.
• The money: $3.2 million from the new federal health-care law.
• The leader: Associate dean Douglas Taren, whose background is in nutrition.
• Trainees: Public-health workers at all levels and groups that help underserved people will get free or subsidized training in person or online. Grad students will get stipends and resources to do projects with county health departments.
• He said it: "A lot of people in the public-health work force weren't originally trained to do public health, and many people in public health in Arizona may not have a college degree. They've learned a lot on the job, but this is a way to provide formal training."
Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 807-8012.
