New study option at CSC targeted to public health

The new Family and Consumer Sciences bachelor’s degree option in health and human services is collaboration between CSC’s programs in FCS and Health Professions. Scheduled to begin this fall, the program also is being integrated with the Rural Health Opportunities Program, a partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center that helps meet the demand for health care professionals in Nebraska’s small communities.

Dr. Jay Sutliffe, who teaches several of the courses on the FCS portion of the curriculum, said he recognizes a need in communities for more trained professionals in the health and human services area.

“Public health is really focused on health promotion and disease prevention, which is being looked at more seriously with the current health care environment,” Sutliffe said. “This program will help meet the needs of local, regional, state and federal agencies.”

Sutliffe expects students who earn the new bachelor’s degree from CSC to be prepared for immediate employment or to pursue a graduate degree.

“Ideally this degree will provide entry level jobs with the idea that some students will continue to UNMC in Omaha for the master’s in public health program,” Sutliffe said. “This degree will be very effective at the community level, but the master’s degree students will be trained for leadership. Think of the recent H1N1 pandemic – the response at the state and federal level was primarily handled through public health agencies which fall under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

Dr. Twila Fickel, director of CSC’s health professions program, said she is excited for the new program’s potential and the opportunity to add another facet to the institution’s positive relationship with UNMC.

Two CSC students in their fourth semester of college will be selected to enter the RHOP portion of the program each spring. Applicants this year were given a March 26 deadline and the selections are being made after interviews this month.

After the RHOP students complete a bachelor’s degree at CSC, they will pursue one of five master’s degrees at UNMC. Disciplines are epidemiology, public health administration, biostatistics, occupational health and community health education.

“There is a robust job market for this field of study,” Fickel said. “You can make a living at it. People who enter these fields work with a lot of high profile issues facing the public today. Just a few examples include H1N1, radon detection, diabetes education and many other efforts to keep the public healthy.”

Fickel said the degree also will be a worthwhile consideration for students who decide on a different career path after first pursuing a degree in another health professions field.

“This gives them the opportunity to redirect their focus and maintain their enthusiasm for a career in health professions,” she said.

In emphasizing the value of health and human service workers, Sutliffe cited a letter to the media from Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman in February. Heineman, in spelling out the value of the Division of Public Health, said the efforts of public health experts during the last century have added 30 years to the life of Nebraskans. Among the important components, he said, were the increased availability of vaccines for diseases, educational efforts to encourage screenings, and the surveillance and work to control infectious diseases and food borne illnesses.