Highlights of UNC Campuses Responses to the Needs of North Carolina. Health

Transcription

1 Highlights of UNC Campuses Responses to the Needs of North Carolina Health Major Finding 4.5: UNC should lead in improving the health and wellness of all people and communities in our state. Consistent with this finding, the UNC Tomorrow Commission recommended that UNC should lead in improving health and wellness in North Carolina, educate more health professionals, and lead in utilizing health information to improve health and wellness in North Carolina. Initiatives for Health Campuses reported a number of existing and new initiatives that will improve the health and wellbeing of the people of North Carolina through new collaborations of existing programs, expanding programs/studies in the fields of health and wellness and traditional medical research, and by expanding educational programs for healthcare professionals in the fields of nursing, medicine, social work, pharmacy, public health as well as others. Some of these new or expanded initiatives represent administrative realignment and reorganization of existing campus programs to produce greater interdisciplinary collaboration among campus units and easier access to campus resources by the public at large. Listed below are representative examples of existing and new initiatives. Existing and Expanded: ASU - The Institute for Health and Human Services IHHS leverages campus expertise to address the health-related needs of ASU, the local community, and NC by providing health services, and utilizing and contributing to health information. Examples include: delivery of mental health services in the high school, needs assessment to understand and address drinking and driving in the county, program evaluation of regional methamphetamine abuse treatment, promotion of physical activity in western NC, maintenance of NC child welfare databases, and provision of professional development opportunities and student training opportunities. ASU - North Carolina Comprehensive School Health Training Center The School Health Training Center is funded by the NC Department of Public Instruction and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The primary mission is to plan, market, implement, and evaluate professional development for teachers, nurses, counselors, administrators, and public health educators in NC. ECU - Bernstein Community Health Center provides needed preventive and primary care resources to the underserved, in particular the state s growing Hispanic/Latino population. Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 1

2 ECU, NCSU, NCA&T - Agromedicine Institute a collaborative institute between ECU, NC State, and NCA&T, providing occupational safety and health programs to migrant and seasonal farm workers. ECU - Hispanic Community Development Center Research Collaborative and the Tillery Wellness Project these health programs are examples of community-based participatory research CPBR partners, and models of ECU s partnerships with communities in which implementation and evaluation of health services result in the identification of best practices for community-driven health services. ECSU - Health Resource Center is a partnership with the Elizabeth City Housing Authority to reduce health disparities with focus on risk reduction related to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Participants receive access to free screening, exercise equipment and aerobics classes, individualized consultation and/or education sessions and group education sessions. ECSU - Drug Information Center: sponsored in part by the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. The Center provides drug information services to health care professionals in northeastern NC and southeastern VA and serves as a resource and educational outreach site for students and the community-at-large. FSU - Research Center for Health Disparities currently, the Research Center for Health Disparities aims at reducing health disparities and improving health and wellness of minority populations by conducting community-level research on major health issues and disseminating its findings to policy makers and health-oriented community organizations in the region. NCA&T - UNC Focus Growth Project the School of Nursing is in the process of: Hiring a nursing student recruiter, developing new recruitment materials, enhancing nursing faculty development opportunities, providing incentive funds to attract clinical faculty, and pairing interested high school students with senior nursing students to serve as mentors or buddies. NCCU - Adult Health Services Programs include Pre-School lang/speech clinic (Spanish and English speakers), adult speech disorders, training nurses and nursing students in breast and cervical cancer prevention, emergency preparedness, HIV prevention, campus fitness. NCSA - Artists Reaching Children in Hospitals ARCH brings NCSA students and guest artists to Brenner Children s Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to perform for, interact with, and engage young patients in artistic and creative activities. This interaction helps the children cope with anxiety of being in a hospital far from the comfortable and familiar surroundings of home and the fear and pain often experienced during the treatment of medical issues. NCSSM - The Wellness Wheel Initiative The Wellness Wheel initiative encourages students to engage in the many school activities themed according to the Wellness Wheel and categorized as S.P.I.C.E.S. The spokes on this wellness wheel are: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Cultural, Emotional, and Social. NCSU - The Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research encourages sharing new discoveries and core facilities among more than 100 faculty in sixteen departments in four colleges to improve healthcare for all species. NCSU - The Center for Quantitative Sciences in Biomedicine serves as a new model for research extensive universities without schools of human medicine to foster collaborations between the quantitative and biological sciences addressing high-impact problems in Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 2

3 biomedicine. It is headed by two established leaders at NC State and a third at Harvard Medical School who already have developed a strong collaborative program, and it draws heavily on other NC State collaborators in the life sciences and veterinary medicine and with medical schools in the region. UNCA, WCU - North Carolina Center for Health and Aging emphasizes health research and allied health programming. MAHEC provides support for medical practitioners and links to the UNC Medical School. UNC-Asheville focuses on wellness. These efforts will continue to assist the aging population which is prevalent in the western part of the state. UNC-CH - University Cancer Research Fund The General Assembly and Governor Mike Easley created the University Cancer Research Fund, providing $25 million this year, $40 million next year and $50 million thereafter to support cancer research. The fund will be dedicated to ensuring that future generations of North Carolinians develop cancer less often and live longer and better if they do. To accomplish this goal, we will extend discoveries statewide through expanded outreach to clinics, health systems and underserved populations. UNCC - The Center for Biomedical Engineering Systems conducts health related research that spans a number of applications ranging from the design of surgical devices; to engineering tissue and organ replacements; to computational and bioreactor systems for the design of pharmaceuticals. UNCP - Healthy Start CORPS The focus of Healthy Start CORPS is to eliminate disparities in perinatal health and empower communities to address the factors contributing to perinatal morbidity and mortality while ensuring that every woman and infant gains access to and continues care within a comprehensive family centered health delivery system. New Initiatives: UNC should lead in improving health and wellness in North Carolina. Campuses know that the health and wellness of the people of our state is of the utmost importance. The following are new initiatives that will help improve the lives of both students on our campuses and communities across the state. ASU, UNCW - Colleges of Health Sciences and Health and Human Services ASU plans a College of Health Sciences which would initially comprise six existing units on campus (Nursing, Social Work, Health Care Management, Communication Disorders, Food and Nutrition, and Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science). UNCW plans for their college to house the schools of nursing, social work, and health and applied human services along with other new degree areas. ECU - Health Disparities Research Institute This institute would conduct, promote, and coordinate interdisciplinary research on the dimensions, causes of, and most effective means to eliminate or reduce health disparities among the region s population, targeting health conditions with a high incidence and prevalence in rural/underserved populations. ECU, UNC-CH - Collaboration on Cancer Research ECU would further develop its cancer services in collaboration with UNC-CH s Lineberger Cancer Center to allow comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to all patients of Eastern North Carolina including access to state-of-theart technologies in cancer treatment such as the Cyberknife and Gamma Knife. Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 3

4 ECU - Center for Global Hearing designed to provide multidisciplinary hearing healthcare for underserved areas in eastern North Carolina, statewide, and internationally while broadening the scope of educational opportunities for students. ECU - Operation Re-Entry: Rehabilitation Research and Services for Soldiers and their Families The diverse health and rehabilitation needs of this population exceed the current capabilities of the military and veterans health systems. The development of a broad-based, collaborative Rehabilitation Research and Service Center in Eastern North Carolina - home to several key military bases and numerous soldiers and veterans - would provide a means to address this urgent and ongoing need. Additionally, ECU will commence discussions with Fayetteville State University and Fayetteville Tech Community College regarding opportunities to meet the service and education needs currently being expressed by the leadership of Fort Bragg and the surrounding community. NCCU - Community Based Participatory Research The Institute would become a repository for ongoing and future initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of disease and infirmity among populations at greatest risk. ECSU - Drug Disposal Project The Center would provide drug information services to health care professionals in northeastern NC and southeastern VA and serves as a resource and educational outreach site for students and the community-at-large. FSU - Bronco Health and Wellness Center The BHWC would provide acute, urgent, and routine care on an appointment basis. Services provided will include: minor surgery, respiratory support, IV therapy and hydration, STD treatment, wart clinic, physicals, wellwoman exams, hypertension clinic, diabetic care, DEPO injections, and most importantly, promote prevention and maintain wellness. NCSU - One Medicine/One Health under this framework NCSU would strengthen its existing collaborative research centers in global health and develop several new ones. Examples of new centers under consideration for development include Cooperative Interagency Center for Biopreparedness, Bioprotection and Emergency Management; and Translational Research Biounit. NCSU - New Crops NC State's Plant Transformation Laboratory has supported the campus s ability to understand genetic and molecular development of food crops and their nutritional value. The Specialty Crops Program has expanded the profitable production of a number of horticultural crops, and has been instrumental in developing and marketing of new crops. UNCA - North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness this new Center will be the first of its kind in North Carolina to focus on the health outreach and education of our Western North Carolina citizenry. Initially focusing on senior wellness, workplace wellness and childhood obesity, this program will bring to bear the combined assets of the University s strong academic program in Health and Wellness Promotion and the many local partners already committed to this issue. UNC-CH - Mental Health System Improvement Project By modeling mental health service use in Orange, Person, Chatham and Durham counties and using computer simulation, Carolina s team, based at the School of Public Health, would be able to see how changes in structure and policies impact the entire system and find innovative methods to improve services. Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 4

5 UNC-CH - Center for Excellence in Mental Health could provide evidence-based treatment to persons with severe and persistent mental illness, train providers throughout the state, conduct research with a focus on patient outcomes, and work together with other University programs to inform mental health policy at the state level. WCU - Health Neighborhood The centerpiece of this neighborhood is the new 160,000- square-foot Health and Gerontological Sciences building slated to open in Development of this neighborhood offers WCU an opportunity to increase its health initiatives and partnerships with the community UNC should educate more health care professionals. One of the clearest requests from the public was the need for more healthcare professionals particularly in the rural eastern and western parts of the state. The following are a few of the proposals that the campuses think will help meet this shortage. (Note Academic Programs will be evaluated and approved during Phase II under the new Academic Planning Process.) ASU, UNCW - PH.D. in Rural Clinical Psychology/Psychology A Rural Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at ASU would address the dearth of behavioral and mental health professionals in rural NC. Efforts would be made to encourage applications from individuals native to rural NC, given such recruitment often relates to retention. UNCW proposes a PH.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in applied and experimental psychological science. This program would include training in cognitive and behavioral disorders including addictions, dementias, and autism. Special attention will be paid to training those who will provide services for the growing Latino community. ECU, UNC-CH, UNCA, UNCC - Expansion of the Schools of Medicine The approved plan to expand medical education by a total of 117 students, starting in 2009, is based on a collaborative effort between the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine (70 additional students) and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (47 additional students). The UNC-Chapel Hill expansion will involve partnerships in Charlotte with Carolinas Medical Center and UNC-Charlotte and partnerships in Asheville with Mission Hospital, the Mountain Area Health Education Center and the Western North Carolina Health Network. ECU - New Dental School ECU will continue with the establishment of its new Dental School (admitting the first class of 50 students in 2011) and ten Regional Dental Health Clinics. The Dental Clinics will be utilized as local points of access to the services of ECU s comprehensive medical, dental, and allied health care professionals and facilities. UNCW - Addressing Workforce needs at the Undergraduate Level UNCW currently addresses the workforce needs of the clinical research organizations in Wilmington at the undergraduate level and plans to expand degree programs in this area based on demand, and has established numerous partnerships within this fast-growing industry cluster. ECU, UNCC - School of Public Health Development of a School of Public Health at East Carolina University is important to meeting the future public health needs of North Carolina. Community-based prevention is the best approach to improving health status. The nationally accredited ECU Master of Public Health graduate program has rapidly grown to more than 80 students. Graduates of this practice-based program are addressing health problems at local health departments, hospitals and community health centers. A School of Public Health (SPH) Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 5

6 at UNC Charlotte would address the burgeoning public health needs of the region. SPH collaborations would also build on unique UNC Charlotte expertise in informatics (College of Computing and Informatics) and the urban built environment (Colleges of Arts and Architecture; Engineering (e.g., civil engineering); and Liberal Arts and Sciences (e.g., Geography) among its foci. UNC-CH, ECSU - Pharmacy Partnership Program trains pharmacists in northeastern North Carolina, which has been identified as an area with the most severe shortage of pharmacists and brings needed community outreach health services to the area to target underserved populations. FSU - School of Allied Health The College of Arts and Sciences has long-term plans to develop additional academic programs in allied health disciplines, including but not limited to physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational health, and rehabilitation services. NCA&T, UNC-CH, UNCG - Expand the School of Nursing NCA&T would expand the class size of its BSN. UNC-CH plans to expand its program from classes of 156 to 183. This expansion is in response to the demand for more nursing professionals across the state. NCA&T, NCCU, UNCP, WCU, UNCW - Create/Expand a Masters of Nursing NCCU would develop a Master s degree in Nursing with focus on education and administration. NCA&T & UNCP plan to develop a program as well. WCU plans on expanding their program. UNCW plans on expanding their program with the Onslow County Extension Program and online. NCCU - Develop Allied Health Programs This would further develop undergraduate and graduate allied health programs for the physician assistants degree, for specialized and /or research technicians, and for physical therapists. NCSU, UNC-CH - Certificate in Medical Devices In a collaboration between the NCSU College of Engineering and the School of Medicine at UNC-CH, they would offer a new graduate certificate in medical devices that will prepare students for careers in the medical devices industry. UNC-CH - Expand the Allied Health Sciences Department The Department has begun to explore an expansion plan that would call for targeted enrollment growth from 409 students in to approximately 710 students in The plan offers expanded models for health care delivery in underserved communities that will involve collaborative partnerships with the N.C. Community College System and other campuses in the UNC System. UNC-CH - Expansion of the School of Dentistry Construction on the UNC-Chapel Hill Dental Sciences Building, scheduled to begin in spring 2009, is a component of the approved Joint Plan for Dentistry between UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University. The larger and more flexible education space will enable the School to expand the DDS class to 100 students (beginning in 2012) from an average class enrollment of 81 students. UNC-CH - Expansion of the School of Pharmacy over the next three to four years, the School anticipates a 20 percent growth in enrollment in its professional and graduate programs with increases in funding to support competitive stipends and fees. UNC-CH - Expansion of the School of Public Health and the School of Social Work The School of Public Health has requested funding to expand its online educational programs to offer a new Master of Science in Disaster Management (MSDM) with an initial cohort of 35 students (25 in-state and 10 out of state) for addressing a critical shortage of professionals prepared to respond to natural and human-instigated disasters. SSW has begun an expansion Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 6

7 of its off-site part-time programs in Asheville and Winston-Salem, as well as its part-time program in the Triangle. The Winston-Salem program would be expanded by over 60 percent in Fall 2008, with the Triangle following in Fall We may also begin accepting a new cohort each year (rather than the current alternate-year admission process) in the Asheville program. UNCG - New School of Pharmacy The establishment of a School of Pharmacy at UNCG would help address the shortage of pharmacists within North Carolina and the nation. The school would offer the PharmD, the first professional degree, and graduate degrees in pharmacy. It is estimated that the school would admit students annually. UNCP, WCU, WSSU - Doctorate of Physical Therapy The University has been approached by a regional consortium of 13 hospitals and hospital systems to develop and implement a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree on the UNCP campus to respond to the articulated need for physical therapy professionals. WCU will transition its current Master of Physical Therapy Program to Doctor of Physical Therapy immediately upon approval from UNC General Administration. This is a critical issue because the professional accrediting organization has increased the number of graduate hours required for licensure. Competing institutions, therefore, have transitioned their programs to doctorates in physical therapy UNC should lead in utilizing health information to improve health and wellness. The UNC Tomorrow commission felt that it was not only important for our university to provide more professionals in the healthcare fields but, also make information more accessible so that their work is even more effective in the treatment of North Carolinians. ECSU - Continuing Education Programs for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Techs. This program would allow healthcare professionals in the northeast region of the state to get necessary professional training throughout their careers. This will be done in a partnership with Eastern AHEC NCCU - Inter Collegiate Committee on Research this multidisciplinary campus committee would identify research results and program activities that should be delivered to the larger community. UNCW - Regional Health Consortium would serve as a trusted source of research and information and actively work to disseminate health knowledge in the community. The RHC would also facilitate regional dialogue and decision making by being a place where citizens and communities would have access to research and information on health related areas. NCSU - Behavioral Health Institute NC State is uniquely positioned to provide leadership in four areas of behavioral health science: scientific analysis of healthcare systems to guide public policy, development of contextually relevant supports for aging individuals, training mental health professionals, and applying quantitative and communication sciences to reduce infectious diseases. NCSU, UNC-CH, UNCC, NCCU, UNCG, and NC A&T - North Carolina Research Campus at Kannapolis are all partners with Dole Foods, Inc. in conducting inter-institutional translational research and outreach on the science of nutrition and human health, including areas such as improving the nutritional value of fruit and vegetable crops, new crop production Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 7

8 methods to further the nutritional quality of food, and bioinfomatics and health services research NCSU - Educated Citizen and Public Health Program would provide education in fundamental principles of health and well-being and make its students more competitive for careers and training as health professionals. The program will include new courses in general education for underclassmen and a public health minor for upperclassmen. NCSU - Director of Global Health Initiatives among other duties, the director of global health initiatives would identify expertise and areas for collaboration related to global health; catalog and publicize NC State's strengths and activities in global health; identify funding agencies and potential partners; facilitate proposal development; expand opportunities for students, faculty, and staff in education, research, training and engagement activities in global health; develop and organize thematic, interdisciplinary and/or research meetings, symposiums, and workshops; and participate ex officio on Research Operations Council, Extension Operations Council and Graduate Operations Council to enhance global programming endeavors. NCSU - Improved processing and packaging of food would lengthen the shelf life of food, maintain quality and nutritive value, and reduce wasted raw and processed product and water, these improvements will address the need more efficient red-meat and poultry processing techniques. NC State's past successes have involved the development of innovative seafood products, enhanced value eggs, and extended shelf-life and unrefrigerated dairy products. NCSU - extension to address the epidemic of obesity, NC State has developed a community of practice in extension to gather the best research-based information on obesity prevention and treatment and make it available on the web. UNC-CH - North Carolina Health Workforce Advisory Board with its nationally recognized health professional data system, North Carolina is better positioned than many states to examine health workforce shortages and develop workable strategies for responding, except current capacity to collect and analyze the necessary data is insufficient. We propose developing a mechanism to insure continuous use of this information for collective, informed decision-making. UNC-CH - Interdisciplinary Health Communications Center to Benefit North Carolina the proposed center is a way to promote access and use of health information through the state s public libraries, community-based organizations, and other venues that can reach out to those who suffer from health disparities. UNC-CH, UNCC, NCCU - North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (TRaCS) the TraCS Institute would develop pilot projects to translate technologies, diagnostics, therapies and evidence-based interventions for the benefit of underserved groups and others who need them. NCCU & UNCC look to create a center separate from the TRaCS project. NCSU - Center for Noninvasive Imaging to address the interrelated issues of hardware, software, "wetware" (chemical and biological technologies), systems integration, and application development across multiple industries. Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 8

9 Barriers and Challenges Campuses put forth barriers and challenges to implementing new initiative and enhancing existing ones. In addition to a lack of funding, other identified issues include: Current reward and incentive systems do not often support community and state outreach efforts. Fiscal policies that allow for the Institute for Health and Human Services to retain a greater percentage of funds generated by grants and contracts could be invested in UNCT efforts.(asu) Recruitment of personnel for the ECSU Drug Information Center (ECSU) Lack of Faculty and Staff to fully implement all of the opportunities that North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness presents for our community (UNCA) Unclear ownership options for Center for Health and Aging facility. (WCU) System policy regarding the nature of regional institutions in offering Doctoral level programs. (WCU) Reallocating Existing Resources Consistent with the UNC Tomorrow Commission s recommendation that UNC continue to seek the efficient use of its resources (Recommendation 5.6), several campuses indicated that they have reallocated existing internal resources toward new initiatives that are responsive to UNC Tomorrow, including Ph. D in Rural Clinical Psychology (ASU) Childhood Obesity Program (ASU) Pro bono economic impact study (NCSSM) Certificate in Medical Devices (NCSU) Director in Global Health Initiatives (NCSU) New Crops and Improved Processing and Packaging of Food (NCSU) North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (UNC-CH) North Carolina Health Workforce Advisory Board (UNC-CH) Expansion of Nursing Program (UNCG) School of Pharmacy (UNCG) Doctor of Physical Therapy (WCU) Expansion of Master s in Nursing Program (WCU) College of Health and Human Services (UNCW) Regional Health Consortium (UNCW) Campuses Phase I Response Highlights 4.5 Our Health Page 9