Heartland Center for Population Health and Community Systems Development

Since 1989, the Heartland Center management, faculty and staff have developed a national reputation for extensive academic and practice partnerships, education and training collaborative networks and systems. This includes the expertise to provide consultation and technical support for development of comprehensive competence-based education and training programs for public health and multisector workforce and leadership capacity development to improve community health, safety and resilience. This includes development, in collaboration with partners, of comprehensive onsite and technology-mediated quality multisector professional development series and certificate programs. The HC website provides an overview of HC projects, programs and partners, including the Heartland Center for Public Health and Community Leadership, the Heartland Public Health Training Center (national network of centers), the Heartland Center for Public Health Preparedness (developed as a national network of centers), the HC managed National Network for Public Health Leadership Development (NLN), and the Heartland Center Learning Management System has received various grants and contracts from federal, state and local health agencies, including the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC Environmental Public Health Branch, the American Association of State Health Officials (ASTHO), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS), the St. Louis City Health Department, and the St. Louis County Department of Health.

The mission of the Heartland Center for Population Health and Community Systems Development is to strengthen the competence, performance, and capacity of current and future health care, public health, and other workforce leaders and organizations to improve population health and community systems. We accomplish our mission through education and partnerships that contribute to enhanced practice linkages across related health and community sectors.

For over 20 years, nationally recognized for excellence, The Heartland Center for Population Health and Community Systems Development has been a premier source for all aspects of health and public health workforce development needs, including being the HRSA-designated public health training center for the state of Missouri. Today, through our highly adaptable learning management system, in addition to professional support and consulting, we can work in partnership with you to achieve high-impact learning and development.

As part of working in partnership with organizations and individuals, we have produced and vetted over 700 competency-based and evaluated courses to meet the professional workforce development needs in health care. Our process includes:

• Helping you work with the assessment of identified needs
• Customizing an approach and accessing our learning management system
• Establishing and exceeding best practices in competency-based e-learning
• Quality course management
• Practice-based results, including a high level of implementation for better results related to the workforce
• Personalized planning and tracking of workforce and professional development and
• Working with any of your existing systems that have supported workforce development to enhance meeting your organization’s needs

As the Missouri performance site for the Midwestern Public Health Training Center the Heartland Center can fund up to five students each year to complete an internship at a public health organization in Missouri. Each student receives a $3,500 stipend in return for completing a 175-hour project for a public health organization. If your organization has a project that needs an M.P.H. student, please contact Aver Yakubu, director of research and partnerships, rauta.a.yakubu@slu.edu.

If you are a student with an unpaid internship and would like to apply, please contact us.

Past projects have included:

• Implementation of a community health improvement plan
• Monitoring and promotion of legislation related to long-term care 
• Analysis of community health needs assessment data
• Coordination of a doula certification and training program
• Fostering a community-based partnership with the Metro Market
• Development of a performance management system
• Evaluation of substance-abuse disorder services offered

The projects that I focused on were impactful for the City of St. Louis Department of Health because I was able to provide assistance where needed, which allowed for activities to run more efficiently and hopefully, more effectively. Additionally, these projects were impactful for their target audiences because they provided much-needed services to a medically underserved population in the form of blood testing and health education. These projects were also impactful for me because I worked with other disciplines to complete them, which introduced me to another piece of public health programming. Among others, I worked alongside nurses, entrepreneurs, and dieticians, all of whom contributed to my understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of public health.

Authors

Erika Collins, M.H.A.(c); Reethika Veluri, BS(c); Alyssa Coleman, M.P.H., CPH®; Kimberly R. Enard, Ph.D., M.S.H.A., MBA, FACHE®

December 2023

Key Findings

• Black and African American (AA) populations are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in Missouri and across the United States (US).1-3
• COVID-19 vaccines are effective in reducing morbidity and mortality from the virus, yet vaccine uptake is disproportionately lower in Black and AA groups compared to White and other racial and ethnic groups due to historical, sociocultural, and structural barriers to care.4
• Tailored outreach strategies that consider the intersectional identities of racial, ethnic and other social groups are needed to overcome barriers to vaccination.4-6

Authors

Senhit Berhane, BS, MPH(c); Shammah Kodjo-Soroh, MD, MPH(c); Kaleb Rasmussen, BS, MHA(c) JD(c); Alyssa Coleman, MPH, CPH®; Kimberly R. Enard, PhD, MSHA, MBA, FACHE®

November 2023

Key Findings

• The vast majority of Americans identify as religious (47%) or spiritual (33%).2 Among adults in Missouri, 77% are part of Christian faiths and 3% are part of non-Christian faiths.3
• Ten percent of Americans believe that COVID-19 vaccine uptake conflicts with their religious beliefs; 50% favor granting religious exemptions with faith leader support.4
• Twenty-five percent of Americans who are hesitant say one of six faith-based approaches would make them at least somewhat more likely to get vaccinated.4

Authors

Ikeoluwa Akintujoye, M.B.B.S., MBA; Alyssa Coleman, M.P.H., CPH®; Kimberly R. Enard, Ph.D., M.S.H.A., MBA, FACHE®

December 2023

Key Findings:

• In 2022, 46% of health workers reported feeling burned out often or very often; 13% experienced harassment; 44% intended to look for a new job.2
• Like other states, members of the public health workforce in Missouri report high levels of psychological distress, burnout, and work-related exhaustion.3
• Awareness and utilization of resources to support workers in distress are low.3

Associate professor
Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice
Department of Health Management and Policy

Executive director
Heartland Center

Kimberly R. Enard, Ph.D., MBA, MSHA, is an associate professor of health management and policy. In addition to serving as executive director of the Heartland Center for Public Health and Community Capacity Development, Enard is director of the Master of Health Administration and Master of Health Care Management programs in the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University. Her professional background encompasses more than 20 years of management and consulting experience with large integrated health systems in areas involving strategic planning, business development, marketing, service line management, program planning and evaluation, performance improvement, community outreach and media relations. Enard is board-certified in health care management and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Before transitioning to the health care industry, Enard worked as a journalist in local and national media markets.

Enard’s overarching research goal is to address health inequities using community-engaged, patient- and family-centered approaches that recognize the complex, multilevel factors that influence each person’s health and well-being over their life course. Enard investigates the characteristics of communities, health systems and individuals that shape processes and outcomes of care, with a particular focus on safety-net populations. She is also interested in examining decision-making mechanisms that may influence inequities related to delivery context (when and where individuals seek and receive care) and quality (unwarranted variations in care) and in partnering with communities and health systems to develop policies, practices and tools that educate and empower patients.

Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice
Director of research and partnerships