Public Health Training Centers

Who: Public Health Training Centers were responsible for training 283,639 public health workers through the fiscal year 2004 and 93,278 in the most recent year. These totals represent public health workers from over 17 different public health disciplines. Of the public health workers trained, 54% were from Public health departments; 43% from other health and related settings; and 3% from Community-based public health organizations.

What: Public Health Training Centers are partnerships between accredited schools of public health and related academic institutions and public health agencies and organizations.  

Why: Established under P.L. 105-392, the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998, the Public Health Training Center Program improves the Nation’s public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership skills and abilities of current and future public health professionals.

How: Public Health Training Centers assess the learning needs of the public health workforce and provide training to meet them. While core funding for Public Health Training Centers comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions, their resources and networks can be used by any source interested in improving the knowledge base of the public health workforce through training and education. State and Federal agencies can use the resources of the Public Health Training Centers to provide foundational public health training to the public health workforce.

Where: The Public Health Training Center Program intends to reach every state in the U.S.; currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia are covered.

Pennsylvania & Ohio Public Health Training Center at University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, serving Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Michigan Public Health Training Center at the University of Michigan, serving Michigan.

Mid-America Public Health Training Center at University of Illinois, serving Illinois and Indiana.

Mid-Atlantic Public Health Training Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene, serving Delaware, the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Midwest Center for Life-Long Learning in Public Health (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of Minnesota, serving Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

New England Public Health Workforce Development Alliance (not a U.S. Government Web site) at Boston University School of Public Health, serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

New York & New Jersey Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at Columbia University, serving New Jersey and New York.

Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of Washington-Seattle School of Public Health and Community Medicine, serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.

Pacific Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of California-Los Angeles School of Public Health, serving California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

Heartland Public Health Education and Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at St. Louis University, serving Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

South Central Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, serving Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.

Southeast Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, serving Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.

Texas Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, serving Texas.

Upper Midwest Public Health Training Center (not a U.S. Government Web site) at University of Iowa, serving Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota.

National Practice Partners

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness

American Public Health Association

Association of Schools of Public Health

Association of State and Territorial Health Officers

National Association of County and City Health Officials

National Association of Local Boards of Health

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce

Public Health Foundation

More information on the Public Health Training Center program: John Kress, 301-443-6864