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PHIG Success Story: In Massachusetts, Building Public Health Infrastructure Starts with a Strong Workforce Elise Moore Massachusetts open houses, supported by CDC's Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), connect the community with public health careers. Open houses are an opportunity for health departments to engage the community, foster trust and transparency, and build pathways for people seeking a career in public health. In late 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Health (DPH) held two virtual open houses—supported by the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG)—for students and alums of Massachusetts colleges and universities. More than 400 participants connected with state and local public health officials in various panels and networking events. DPH’s Workforce Director Arnaldo Machado shared his insights, lessons learned, and testimonials from staff about the experience with ASTHO. What strategies did DPH employ to engage participants? ARNALDO MACHADO: The "Who's in the room?" activities helped engage the participants and highlight our focus on racial and health equity. We were very clear about the reason for that exercise: ensuring we are reaching the communities we serve. The one-hour themed breakout rooms (15 minutes of staff presentations and 45 minutes of Q&A) were the highlight of both events. They fostered an interactive experience for participants. Lombardo-MA Building PH Infrastructure Starts with Strong Workforce - Block 1 What challenges did you encounter during the open houses and how did you meet them? MACHADO: A significant challenge was overcoming the immediate results mindset, which can sometimes be in conflict with the efforts needed for pathway events such as open houses. Unless that mindset changes, we will forever be working on short-term initiatives. A lot of times, people want to see immediate changes to hiring numbers. However, just as community engagement efforts do not result in enhanced public health outcomes overnight, pathway events yield results over time. After each event, more than 200 prospective candidates for the public health workforce are better informed about career paths, the human side of the department, and how to get more help. We aim to dismantle the large institutional view many people may have of us as an organization in the distance. Hopefully, we took one step further, through transparency, in building a relationship of trust with those present. So, we don't only measure the event's success based on immediate hires. Rather success is in the reach of our events, which will bear fruit for years to come. Beluk-MA Building PH Infrastructure Starts with Strong Workforce - Block 2 What insights have you gained from the post-event evaluation survey? MACHADO: My biggest measures were the levels of participation and overall satisfaction with the event. The participation rate of attendees versus registrants was around 50%, which is the average for DPH during recruitment events. We filled those registrations relatively quickly with minimal promotion to social networks and leveraging our academic health department partnerships. We also saw the satisfaction ratings grow between the first and second events. Participants appreciated the transparency in the hiring process presentations and felt more prepared to apply for DPH jobs. They also loved the opportunity to connect with people who worked in the department. Participants also asked for the opportunity to participate in more than one breakout session—and even though that opportunity was available at the second event, it came at the cost of losing content since all breakout sessions were concurrent. We resourced some of the session, so people won't have to experience repetitive content in the future. Turner-MA Building PH Infrastructure Starts with Strong Workforce - Block 3 Looking ahead, how do you anticipate leveraging PHIG funding to promote public health careers and engage with students and alumni from Massachusetts colleges and universities? MACHADO: With a shift to skills-based hiring in Massachusetts, I am thinking much beyond formal academic institutions for future outreach. We will continue to invest in academic pathways, and our academic health department manager is committed to that. Still, we are also forging partnerships with local career centers and veteran service programs and planning to reach young adults in the K-12 system. Additionally, we are using PHIG funding to implement significant career promotion efforts on our website through workforce highlights and clarification on many roles in the department. For year two of the grant, we have identified employees in nine domains determined by need—measured in long-time-to-hire metrics tracked for PHIG—and by strategic alignment. Contact Department-Blog - In Massachusetts, Building Public Health Infrastructure Starts with a Strong Workforce OE22-2203 PHIG website yes

Learn how public health agencies can leverage community impact statements to showcase their critical work.

Colorado's New Online Mentorship Initiative Supports Local Public Health Agencies Elise Moore Learn how CDPHE developed an online mentorship program to enhance local public health leadership, with tips for other health departments. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) launched their Athena Success Partnering program, an online staff mentorship initiative for local public health agencies. CDPHE's Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships (OPHP) developed the program as part of its Executive Director Learning Pathways project, which supports those leading local health agencies in Colorado—especially after many of those leaders faced intense scrutiny during the pandemic. CDPHE used Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) funds to procure the software to support its online mentorship programs. Several different entities in CDPHE are now using the software for mentoring initiatives, including programs for new hires, human-centered leadership, and peer support. In addition to the Athena Program, OPHP uses the software for a peer connection program for Colorado Chief Medical Officers. Development and Launch of the Mentorship Program An Executive Director Advisory Group helped guide OPHP’s thinking around the options and elements to include in its online mentorship program for local health agencies. The Athena Program provides new and experienced executive directors and emerging leaders the opportunity to form supportive peer relationships for skill development, confidence building, networking, effective agency leadership, and supporting retention efforts. OPHP started by focusing on local public health agency executive directors and has recently opened the program to all Colorado local public health agency staff. The program offers a series of steps or prompts to guide mentors and mentees, with content to last for a year of regular meetings. Some of the automated prompts include ice breakers and questions about communication, goal setting, and leadership. Additionally, the platform has a learning section where users can find articles and resources related to professional development. Participants use the platform for traditional mentoring, and to connect with colleagues with expertise in specific areas. Users can ask questions or request mentorship for specific time-sensitive problems or learning needs. They can also join role-specific groups, such as planners and emergency preparedness and response and resiliency staff. OPHP notes that it took time for staff to develop new habits for using the platform for questions and resource sharing and that some executive directors did not feel qualified enough to become mentors to other executive directors. To address some of these challenges, OPHP created resources and opportunities for users to understand the program's benefits, including a monthly newsletter. In one edition, OPHP outlined reasons to become a mentor—addressing the benefits, time investment, preparation guidance, and qualifications to be a mentor. Program Receives Positive Response Both mentors and mentees in the Athena Program have expressed positive outcomes and benefited from their relationships. Broomfield County Executive Director Jason Vahling shared that he benefitted from the mentor experience. “Initially, I was signing up to be a mentor, but I feel like, at times, we switch back and forth between being the mentor and mentee and learn from each other. It has been great to have a partner outside the metro area to get insights and learn from." Mentorship Platform Evaluation Plans As the program continues, OPHP is using quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., participation counts, user surveys, and key informant interviews) to assess participant engagement. Program administrators are also assessing supports and barriers to participation and whether participation in the mentorship program is helping build essential knowledge and skills in implementing best practices for core public health services and foundational capabilities, management and leadership, and staff support and retention. OPHP’s Advice on Planning an Online Mentorship Program For health departments seeking to build their mentorship platform, OPHP shared a few tips: An advisory group was valuable for program planning. Talk to potential participants about their needs, as these may vary. Be patient and take the long view. Demonstrate how the program benefits both mentors and mentees. Provide various options for engaging with mentoring, peer support, and group interaction opportunities. Future Plans for Strengthening Staff Expertise CDPHE plans to continue leveraging PHIG funding, as well as their academic health department partnership with the Colorado School of Public Health, to offer a program to prepare participants to successfully take the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam and earn certification with a pilot beginning in January 2025. PHIG recipients interested in learning more about Colorado’s experience can reach out to the team at ophp@state.co.us. Special Thanks-Blog - Colorado's New Online Mentorship Initiative Supports Local Public Health Agencies OE22-2203 PHIG website yes

In August 2020, the Big Cities Health Coalition and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials released a co-produced public service announcement to support public education in our members’ communities. The call to action in the PSA is straightforward: Americans need to put aside our respective differences and, simply, #MaskUp.