Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) at the University of Washington School of Public Health has been re-awarded as a Public Health Training Center (PHTC) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
The four-year award will help strengthen the public health workforce serving rural and medically vulnerable communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
NWCPHP has served as the region’s PHTC for more than 20 years and is one of 10 centers funded nationally in this cycle. "This award recognizes the critical need for ongoing public health workforce development in our region and what we can contribute to the field in the coming years," said Betty Bekemeier, NWCPHP Director and PHTC Principal Investigator.
A Workforce in Transition
The renewal comes at a critical time for public health in the northwest. The four states are home to about 15 million people, 271 federally recognized Tribes, and roughly 12,700 governmental public health workers. Many of those workers serve rural and frontier communities facing high rates of chronic disease and limited access to health care.
Health departments are also absorbing a wave of new staff. Nearly 60% of state and local health department employees in the region have been with their agencies for five years or less, and many have little formal public health training. At the same time, fewer than 17% have 16 or more years of experience, leaving fewer seasoned workers to guide newcomers.
In rural areas, a single staff member often covers roles that larger agencies split among several specialists. Leaders there also report a strong preference for “growing their own” workforce by training residents who are more likely to stay. "Recruitment and retention is an ongoing need, as well as training and support for new public health workers," Bekemeier said. "Our rural and Tribal [public health] partners feel this most deeply, as their agencies and their pool of new staff to draw from are small. We are eager to continue focusing heavily on the needs of these key practice communities."
What the Funding Supports
In this cycle, funding will support four areas:
Expand and enhance the public health workforce. Each academic year, NWCPHP will award stipends to graduate students working on public health projects with partners across the region. It will also provide tuition support to students in designated fields.
Increase partnerships in rural and medically vulnerable areas. NWCPHP will work with state, local, and Tribal partners to understand workforce needs. This includes again supporting the national Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) recruitment efforts in 2027, so staff in small and rural health departments are counted. The team will help partners turn survey findings into plans for recruiting and keeping staff.
Provide tailored, quality training to address current and emerging public health needs. NWCPHP will continue its monthly Hot Topics in Practice webinars, which reached nearly 7,900 attendees over the past four years. It will also offer its Public Health Management Certificate and Leadership in Practice courses, as well as courses on core public health skills and services.
Collaborate with HRSA and other Public Health Training Centers. NWCPHP will work with HRSA and the nine other funded centers to share what works, align evaluation strategies, and advance the national program’s goals.
Bekemeier expects public health practice to look very different by 2030. She said, "Through our rich partnerships with practice, we hope to make the most of these innovations, such that by 2030 we'll have a deep bench of public health practitioners around the region who are well-connected in their communities and helping lead new approaches to health promotion and prevention that reach well into under-resourced communities."
