GW SPHHS Progress Report by Moire Marketing Partners

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SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

SPHHS DEAN’S COUNCIL

Dean Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH

CHAIR

Senior Associate Dean Josef Reum, PhD

J. Zoë Beckerman, JD, MPH Partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell, LLP, and Managing Principal, FT Solutions, LLC

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Julie A. DeLoia, PhD Associate Dean for Research Kimberly Horn, EdD

MEMBERS

DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

Jason Altmire, MHSA Congressman, D-PA

Robert E. Burke, PhD

Paul Antony, MD, MBA Chief Medical Officer, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

Department of Health Services Management and Leadership James Cawley, PA-C, MPH Department of Prevention and Community Health Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH Department of Exercise Science Alan E. Greenberg, MD, MPH Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Paula M. Lantz, PhD Department of Health Policy

Roslyn Brock, MHSA, MBA Chairman, NAACP Fred L. Brown, MBA, LFACHE Principal, Fred L. Brown and Associates Brian Conboy, JD Of Counsel, Willkie Farr and Gallagher, LLP

Melissa J. Perry, ScD, MHS Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

Feygele Jacobs, MPH, MSUP EVP and Chief Operating Officer RCHN Community Health Foundation

James M. Sherry, MD, PhD Department of Global Health

Diane Robinson Knapp, MS Chair, GW Urban Food Task Force Peter Kovler Director, Marjorie Kovler Philanthropic Fund Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH Rear Admiral, USPHS (Ret) Vice President, Global Strategic Affairs, LifeScan, Inc. (a Johnson & Johnson company) Sona Patel-Grimm, MD, MPH Resident Physician, GW Medical Faculty Associates

SPHHS

Venessa M. Perry, MPH President & CEO, Health Resource Solutions, Inc. Pierre N. Vigilance, MD, MPH Visiting Professor for Public Health Practice The George Washington University SPHHS Susan E. Vitka Independent Consultant

EX OFFICIO MEMBER Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH Dean, School of Public Health & Health Services

PUBLIC HEALTH BEGINS with the basics of our existence—clean water, safe food, and breathable air—and continues through more complex and technical issues such as auto safety, vaccine development and distribution, infectious disease, maternal and child health, obesity, and health care reform. Public health impacts all of us: how long we live, the quality of our lives, our sense of well-being, and the health of our children and future generations. Right now is the best time in history to pursue innovative solutions to complex and thorny public health problems. While the challenges we face and the problems we need to solve are intricate as well as formidable, the tools and technology we have in our hands and a growing national and international appreciation of public health means that the winds are in our favor. The School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University is on the rise. We are steadily climbing in national rankings; now in the top third of public health schools, our goal is to move into the top ten. We are the only public health school in the nation’s capital. We are the only public health school with a department of policy, and ours is rated in the top ten. In a time when the multiple values of physical fitness, athletic conditioning and behavior modification are being recognized and championed, we are one of only three public health schools with a department of exercise science. Over the years I have witnessed many people embark on a career in public health. And always there exists a spirit of altruism as they undertake this remarkable journey. Men and women devote their lives to this work because they want to make a difference: to save lives, to enable people everywhere to enjoy healthy and fulfilled lives, and thus to create a better future for everyone. It takes passion and commitment to work in public health, and we see this every day in our halls. Our School is attracting the best students in our history, who come here to learn from and work with a top-flight faculty possessing knowledge, skill, and real-world experience. Because of the expertise of our faculty and our location in the District of Columbia, we have enormous exposure to and influence on policy related to public health—in the city of Washington, D.C., nationally, and internationally. I invite you to get to know our school. Learn about the challenges and opportunities facing public health in the 21st century. And while the challenges facing us sometimes seem insurmountable, this School has optimism embedded in its DNA. Our students often say: “If you want to change the world, there is no better place than this School and no better time than right now.”

“ MEN AND WOMEN DEVOTE THEIR LIVES TO THIS WORK BECAUSE THEY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE: TO SAVE LIVES, TO ENABLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO ENJOY HEALTHY AND FULFILLED LIVES, AND THUS TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE.”

Dean Lynn R. Goldman

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

STATE OF THE SCHOOL

A NEW HOME, A DYNAMIC FUTURE One day soon, GW students headed for promising careers in public health, faculty members training those future leaders, high-profile policy experts sharing their knowledge, and public health scholars working on important research will find themselves under one roofâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in a state-of-the-art new facility slated to open in 2014.

PROGRESS REPORT

2014

ANTICIPATED OPENING OF NEW BUILDING

3 Concept designs as of June 2011

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

STATE OF THE SCHOOL

FOR THE FIRST TIME in its 15-year history, George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) will have its seven academic departments and all programs anchored at a single address. The new building positions the school for the future, with room to grow.

THE NEW BUILDING IS A REFLECTION OF THE GROWING FIELD OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SYMBOLIZES A STRONGER EMPHASIS BY GW ON PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE UNIVERSITY AND BEYOND.

“This is a remarkable opportunity—a dream come true for many of us—to have a central home for our students and faculty,” says Dean Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH. “We take great pride in being the only school of public health in the nation’s capital. Having a recognizable and strategically located building will greatly enhance our school’s visibility and our reputation as a national center of positive thought and action.” As the first GW building visible when approaching the Foggy Bottom Campus from Washington Circle and Pennsylvania Avenue, the SPHHS complex will become the leading edge of the university. This modern structure featuring an interior atrium will boldly declare the university’s commitment to the future of public health. The new school building will serve as a center for academic achievement, analysis and discussion—and its innovative design incorporates public health lessons that will contribute to a more productive and healthy work environment. Natural light will stream through its walls of windows, and the inviting central staircase will encourage people to choose the stairs instead of the elevators. Both indoor and outside bike racks will make “green” commuting easier. After years of being scattered in GW’s various buildings in Foggy Bottom, the school’s full- and part-time faculty members will come together in the new building, thereby facilitating interdepartmental collaboration. These interactions will stimulate breakthrough thinking and help stimulate collaboration and attract stellar new faculty in addition to increased research funding. The school’s 1,200 graduate and undergraduate students will benefit from new, flexible learning and study areas, cutting-edge technology and easier access to faculty. The new building is a reflection of the growing field of public health and symbolizes a stronger emphasis on behalf of the university to focus on public health. This new facility will allow the school to host presentations and conferences and foster dialogue in a central location that promises to solidify GW’s standing as a thought leader in the public health arena. With a new home and the ability to expand, SPHHS has a promising era ahead.

PROGRESS REPORT

THE NEW SPHHS BUILDING AT A GLANCE Location 950 New Hampshire Ave, NW Washington, DC 20052 Across the street from the George Washington University Hospital and one block from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Himmelfarb Library

Square Footage

115,000 square feet of gross floor area

Number of Stories Nine stories; seven above ground, two below ground

Cost A projected $75 million financed through fundraising, debt (funded by SPHHS operations) and reserves.

Construction Start

Spring 2012

Anticipated Opening

Spring 2014

Architects Boston-based Payette Architects; D.C.-based associate architect, Ayers Saint Gross Architects

Contractor

Concept designs as of June 2011

Whiting Turner

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

STATE OF THE SCHOOL

NOTABLE DESIGN FEATURES

Concept designs as of June 2011

Located next to windows each floor will have student lounges and study rooms conducive to conversation and learning. Student resources are located close to faculty offices, encouraging students to seek out interaction and mentorship.

PROGRESS REPORT

Concept designs as of June 2011

The ground floor—featuring a lobby, an atrium and a 200-seat auditorium—will support the school’s academic mission of sharing knowledge and fostering dialogue around key public health issues. A convening center will allow the school to host and sponsor conferences, workshops and international public health events.

Concept designs as of June 2011

Large auditorium classrooms will incorporate the latest technology for webcasting and new approaches to projection. Smaller rooms feature movable furniture so faculty can create a stimulating multimedia teaching environment.

Concept designs as of June 2011

The building’s lower level will include exercise rooms and body monitoring labs specific to the teaching and research activities of the Department of Exercise Science.

SPHHS GOES GREEN For the new SPHHS building, the university is targeting a gold rating

fixtures and energy-saving lighting controls. Local, rapidly renewable

under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

and recycled building materials are also included in the plan.

Green Building Rating System of the U.S. Green Building Council.

As part of the project design, the university will expand an existing

“The building’s many green features will make it a point of pride for GW

public park at the intersection of 24th Street and New Hampshire

and the neighborhood,” says Liz Borkowski, a graduate student in the

Avenue. As a result of working with a neighborhood citizens group, the

Department of Health Policy.

initiative will incorporate a safe pedestrian crossing, wider sidewalks

Sustainable features planned for the building include rainwater collec-

and park benches.

tion, terracotta panels, a green floor, an HVAC system with chilled-beam

The Boston architectural firm Payette, with many years of experience

and mass air-displacement technologies, an enhanced system to reduce

with state-of-the-art LEED-certified facilities, has designed the new

storm water runoff by more than 25 percent, low-flow plumbing

building. Its D.C. architect partner is Ayers Saint Gross. Whiting Turner, headquartered in Baltimore, is the building contractor.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

TODAY STUDENTS FROM MORE THAN 35 NATIONS PURSUE UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND DOCTORAL-LEVEL DEGREES IN PUBLIC HEALTH.

PROGRESS REPORT

SHAPING HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE FOR TOMORROW At SPHHS we take research from the lab into the community. Along the way, our students learn from—and take part in—public health investigations that are shaping policy and action for tomorrow.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

RESEARCH

“GW’s School of Public Health and Health Services is wonderfully positioned to make an impact on public health and on public health education in this country,” says Dean Lynn R. Goldman. “Washington, D.C., is a laboratory for public health practice. It has all of the typical problems we see both across the country and worldwide, including a number of urban health issues and health disparities.”

million

Many of the school’s community-based research projects are here in the District of Columbia and involve students in substantive roles. For example, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics not only leads the District of Columbia Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D.C. D-CFAR) but also provides world-class scholarship and research overviews.

IN 2011-12, RESEARCH

SPHHS puts an emphasis on applied rather than basic research, and the work contributes to both clinical knowledge and health policy scholarship. Over the last four years, the research environment has been energized by expanding its scope and recruiting outstanding new faculty members.

WAS CONDUCTED REPRESENTING OVER $40 MILLION IN GRANTS AND CONTRACTS COMPRISING MORE THAN HALF OF THE SCHOOL’S $80 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET

Today, with research resources more than doubling in the last five years, SPHHS has the fastest growing research enterprise at the George Washington University. In 2011-12, research was conducted representing over $40 million in grants and contracts comprising more than half of the school’s $80 million operating budget. SPHHS researchers are on the forefront of work on HIV/AIDS, health information technology, health services management, cancer, wellness, environmental health, childhood obesity, global health, prevention, access to health care and much more. Faculty and students actively disseminate their findings through traditional channels, such as peer-reviewed journals, as well as through websites, community presentations, and testimony before government and legislative bodies. SPHHS research identifies unmet needs, tests innovative models and strategies, and emphasizes evaluation to ensure that what is being implemented actually works. The research is collaborative and multidisciplinary, engaging other scholars as well as advocates, policymakers, legislators, private-sector representatives and the community. Strong communities are the foundation of public health, and SPHHS is committed to outreach, service, training and research efforts necessary to build them. Through the work, the school contributes to fostering healthy behaviors, strengthening access to care, and empowering underserved populations. All of these efforts share at least one common goal: advancing the health of communities at home and abroad.

PROGRESS REPORT

AT THE FOREFRONT: AN ELITE HIV/AIDS INITIATIVE IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL For years the HIV/AIDS news out of Washington, D.C., has been troubling. The district’s HIV infection rate currently stands at more than three percent of the city’s population age 13 and older, the highest in the country. In fact, the city’s infection rate is higher than rates in many developing nations, surpassing the World Health Organization’s criteria for an epidemic. SPHHS is working to radically alter this scenario with cuttingedge AIDS research that promises to help reduce infection rates, both locally and worldwide. It aims to do this through the District of Columbia Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D.C. D-CFAR), a consortium of institutions that have joined forces to transform the dismal outlook on AIDS. Created in 1988 and originally begun by the Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the CFAR program emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration—especially among basic, clinical and behavioral investigators—so findings can easily go from the laboratory to the clinic and into communities. In addition to inhibiting the disease itself, researchers will also examine prevention strategies and behavioral change. The formation of D.C. D-CFAR in 2010 has vaulted the School of Public Health and Health Services into an elite AIDS research network of some 20 CFARs across the United States. Included in the network are other D.C.-area research powerhouses, including Children’s National Medical Center, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown University, Howard University and American University. “This [center] is something we can all be proud of because it gives us the chance to have a major impact on an epidemic that is harming so many people in our nation’s capital,” says Alan E. Greenberg, MD, MPH, director of the center and professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

With leadership from Dr. Greenberg, the institutions pooled their expertise, applied for a National Institutes of Health grant to create the center, and received more than $3 million in funding. Currently in a probationary stage, the center will apply to be reclassified as a standard CFAR at the end of its five-year developmental NIH grant. “If the research and financial contributions are strong, and we do the things necessary to demonstrate that we took this opportunity and made the most of it, I’m confident that we can make the transition to a full CFAR,” says Dr. Greenberg, who once headed the HIV epidemiology branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Our vision was that by getting people together from institutions throughout the city, we could assemble a successful D.C. D-CFAR.” More than 150 investigators, representing 12 clinical sites and seven basic science laboratories, are currently participating in the D.C. D-CFAR. The program also creates opportunities for early stage and minority investigators. The center’s mission statement specifically advocates development of the next generation of investigators, which includes helping young HIV/AIDS researchers apply for NIH grants. Dr. Greenberg describes the HIV/AIDS community in the nation’s capital as allied and deeply committed. “What the D.C. D-CFAR can do in our city is create a community of HIV/AIDS scientists who can conduct the highest level of research on this disease,” he says. “The idea is to transfer this positive energy into increasing quantity and quality of research.”

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

RESEARCH

HIV/AIDS: RESPONDING TO AN EPIDEMIC IN OUR OWN BACKYARD AND BEYOND In the District of Columbia and in places thousands of miles away, GW’s School of Public Health and Health Services is tackling one of the most critical public health challenges in the world today—HIV/AIDS. To help reduce the district’s HIV/AIDS infection rate—one of the highest in the nation—D.C.’s Department of Health turned to experts from the school’s Center for HIV/AIDS Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Laboratory Research. As a result the school was invited to participate in a global study trials network, the NIH-funded HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), as well as work with NIH in its programs local to DC.

Irene Kuo, SPHHS associate research professor; Manya Magnus, SPHHS associate professor; and Christopher Chauncey Watson, research associate, GW project director for HIV Prevention Trials Network studies.

Four prevention trials are part of this effort. One study, led by Manya Magnus, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, explores the feasibility and acceptability of a multifaceted intervention among black men who have sex with men (MSM). The study identified effective and culturally appropriate approaches to reducing HIV/AIDS in this high-risk population. A second investigation, directed by Irene Kuo, PhD, MPH, associate research professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, was designed to characterize the incidence of HIV among high-risk women. As a result of these two studies, the investigators, under the direction of Alan E. Greenberg, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and director of the D.C. Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D.C. D-CFAR), were selected to participate in two cutting edge studies that will be led by Professor Magnus and other faculty. These two studies will be the first biomedical trials conducted within the department. “These HPTN studies are an effort to demonstrate that community-based samples of persons at high risk for HIV can be successfully recruited and retained,” says Dr. Greenberg. “If we are successful, we hope this will allow us to participate in future HPTN studies that will bring cutting-edge interventions, behavioral or biomedical, into these high-risk populations in the District.” The studies are only one component of our involvement with HIV/AIDS in the district. The school also serves as administrative hub to the D.C. D–CFAR. This NIH-funded center brings together accomplished researchers from academic, public health and clinical institutions in the D.C. area, who work collaboratively to promote AIDS research and develop the next generation of HIV/AIDS investigators.

PROGRESS REPORT

over Other studies conducted by Epidemiology and Biostatistics faculty includes NIH funded studies of HIV in incarcerated populations, creation of a multi-site cohort of HIV-infected DC residents, examining novel technology in the prevention and treatment of HIV, and both CDC and NIH funded studies working towards a better understanding of behavior that puts people at risk for HIV. SPHHS also contributes to the global AIDS battle. Thousands of babies are born every year with HIV/AIDS that has been transmitted from infected mothers. The school is providing scientific and research support for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which is working to eradicate AIDS transmission from mothers to babies, especially in Africa where rates are highest. Screening is one key to reduction of HIV transmission. We collaborate with the Association of Public Health Organizations to provide advanced training for laboratory professionals in developing countries. We are also building capacity for laboratory diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and related infections in Africa.

400 thousand

$435,875 OVER 2 YEARS FUNDED BY NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND

Through on-the-ground experience, we have identified the need for AIDS tests that can be more easily used in developing countries. In Mozambique, Jeanne Jordan, PhD, professor of epidemiology, is developing low-cost, mobile AIDS tests to enable in-country labs to perform HIV testing on infants in rural communities. Currently, small labs send blood samples to larger, centralized labs, costing valuable time and making it more likely that cases will be lost to follow-up. Partners in this project include the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

NIMH TO PROVIDE FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO PREVENTION BARRIERS FOR BLACK MSM AND INFORM FURTHER INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT.

We are also working to address the shortage of trained health care workers in developing countries, via a World Health Organization project and a U.S. HRSA-funded project to improve the quality of medical school education in Africa. SPHHS is at the forefront of training public health professionals to address the global challenge of HIV/AIDS. The school offers an 18-credit graduate certificate in HIV/AIDS studies, one of the first of its kind in the United States. The program is geared toward public health graduate students and professionals who are interested in broadening their knowledge. Classes include HIV/AIDS biology, policy, HIV/AIDS epidemiology, ethnography, prevention and care.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

RESEARCH

LINKING POLICY AND PRACTICE IN GLOBAL HEALTH The link between science and policy—in D.C. and around the globe—is

The center also organizes the annual James P. Grant Lecture, named

the crux of research at the George Washington Center for Global

for the former executive director of UNICEF. He spent much of his life

Health, housed in the school’s Department of Global Health. The center

advocating on behalf of children and was instrumental in the U.N.’s

brings program evaluation skills and policy expertise to global health

adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

research and practice. Through the center, students take part in policy roundtables, attend Congressional hearings on Capitol Hill and listen to experts as they discuss pressing global health challenges.

The annual lecture series is quickly becoming a signature event for the school. At its 2010 launch, global health experts called for increased action and bipartisan support for child survival efforts worldwide. In

Each semester, the center awards several Global Health Service

2011 the lecture addressed the challenges that remain in meeting the

Fellowships to first-year students in the master’s program in public

U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals.

health. The fellowships provide financial support for three-month field placements with one of the center’s international research partners. The Global Health Governance Project teams with major international health organizations such as the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), UNAIDS and the World Food Programme: The students serve as fellows to study their policy-making processes. The Institutional Learning Collaboration places fellows in the field with public health practice organizations that are working on a range of health issues.

PROGRESS REPORT

The center also sponsors the annual USAID Mini-University, as well as the Malaria in the Americas roundtable with the Pan American Health Organization and the Pan American Health and Education Foundation. In addition, the center hosts research forums and the annual Global Health and Development Achievement Award Dinner.

TODAY’S PUBLIC HEALTH FRONTIER: THE WORLD More than ever before, people, governments and public health issues are globally connected. Addressing the evolving needs of populations around the world requires committed public health leaders, solid research and vibrant innovation. SPHHS embodies all three. That may explain why the minister of health and other officials from the Southeast Asian nation of Timor Leste sought out SPHHS for possible research collaboration on infectious diseases and maternal, newborn and child health. Formerly known as East Timor, the island nation is located in the eastern-most part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Australia and Indonesia. SPHHS is exploring student and faculty exchanges with Timor Leste, and the U.S. Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok, Thailand, is also engaged in the project to pursue an infectious disease investigation. The Timor Leste delegation is working with SPHHS through one of our broadest access points: the Department of Global Health. “Our faculty doesn’t just teach global health, they practice global health,” notes James Sherry, professor and chair of the department and director of GW’s Center for Global Health. “We have an exciting faculty that is working on a range of important projects, from chronic disease in China to the emergency health response in Afghanistan to nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, and we work with such partners as the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund.” The Department of Global Health offers five concentrations—communications; policy; program design, monitoring and evaluation; management; and global health strategies—as well as joint degree programs in collaboration with the GW Elliott School of International Affairs, the GW Law School and the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. These programs offer students the opportunity to tailor their educational experience to their career aspirations. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities for practical study in such far-off locations as Bangladesh, China and Kenya. Key partners range from United Nations agencies to community organizations on the front lines of public health. Our next generation of public health professionals can work with those on the vanguard of global health, building a rigorous foundation in public health principles, core global health concepts and interdisciplinary research methodology. “Our Department of Global Health is a diverse group of professors from various fields,” says Lone Simonsen, PhD, research professor of global health. “We have epidemiologists. We have anthropologists. We have health economists.”

Lone Simonsen, PhD, research professor of global health

OUR NEXT GENERATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS CAN WORK WITH THOSE ON THE VANGUARD OF GLOBAL HEALTH, BUILDING A RIGOROUS FOUNDATION IN PUBLIC HEALTH PRINCIPLES, CORE GLOBAL HEALTH CONCEPTS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

RESEARCH

WATCHING THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION “BEING ABLE TO QUANTIFY THE INDIVIDUAL’S ECONOMIC BURDEN OF EXCESS WEIGHT MAY GIVE NEW URGENCY TO PUBLIC POLICY DISCUSSIONS REGARDING SOLUTIONS FOR THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC.” –CHRISTINE FERGUSON, JD

Obesity has emerged as one of public health’s most serious challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly 36 percent of U.S. adults are obese, and childhood obesity levels have tripled since 1980. Because of these staggering statistics, SPHHS is moving to the forefront of this pervasive, complex public health issue with multidisciplinary research and policy work. THE COST OF OBESITY. In September 2010, SPHHS released “A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States.” The report marked the first time these costs had been quantified through rigorous academic research. Avi Dor, PhD, professor of health policy, and his co-authors measured both direct costs, including direct medical expenditures, and indirect costs, such as absenteeism at work and disability. They concluded that the yearly individual cost of being obese is $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men. When the value of lost years of life is added, the annual price becomes $8,365 for obese women and $6,518 for obese men. “Being able to quantify the individual’s economic burden of excess weight may give new urgency to public policy discussions regarding solutions for the obesity epidemic,” says Christine Ferguson, JD, professor of health policy and one of the researchers on the study. In 2011, SPHHS researchers, again led by Professors Christine Ferguson and Avi Dor, explored obesity’s relationship with wages resulting in “Gender and Race Wage Gaps Attributable to Obesity.” This report updated the existing literature on obesity-wage gaps using the latest data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The researchers found significant wage penalties during the 2004 wave of the NLSY, amounting to $8,666 less for obese females and $4,772 less for obese males, in 2010 dollars, when compared to their normal weight counterparts. VIDEO GAMES: A TOOL TO FIGHT OBESITY. A yearlong study through the Department of Exercise Science evaluated the effectiveness of video games in addressing obesity among adolescents. The study by Todd A. Miller, PhD, associate professor of exercise science, and Karen McDonnell, PhD, associate professor of prevention and community health, compared traditional physical education programs with video-game play, looking at two components: exertion and enjoyment. The research, funded through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program, focused on exergames, video games that involve physical activity. A hypothesis of the study is that exertion for the sake of exertion is not effective. Instead, motivation, enjoyment and social reinforcement are crucial determinants of physical activity.

PROGRESS REPORT

ACCESS TO TREATMENT. Primary care physicians do not talk to their patients about obesity, according to Professor Ferguson. “We had a sense from some of the research that there’s a real failure to communicate between doctors and patients when it comes to this issue,” she says. “And that is exactly what we saw when we did a survey on this topic.” The survey found that two in five physicians do not regularly measure patients’ height and weight. Only 39 percent of surveyed patients with a body mass index of 30.0 or higher recall their physicians telling them that they were obese. Although some doctors encouraged patients to lose weight, they rarely discussed how. As many as 72 percent of physicians surveyed reported that no one in their practice had been trained to deal with weight issues, and physicians cited a lack of time during appointments to effectively discuss obesity management. SUMMER CAMP FOR AT-RISK YOUTH. In 2010, SPHHS partnered with Yuma, Ariz., the southwestern town once ranked as the second most obese city in the country, to launch a summer camp pilot program for overweight and obese children. The six-week Grow Smart Summer Camp won the Gabe Zimmerman Emerging Champion Award in 2011 and has been spotlighted as a national model. Camp activities emphasize exercise, nutrition and self-esteem, and children are taught how to make healthy choices. But Grow Smart doesn’t stop with the campers—and that’s what makes it different. It also involves families and brings in golf pros and other athletes to talk about fitness. EARLY INTERVENTION, HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS. The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance released a policy recommendation calling for interventions and public environments conducive to physical activity, independent of weight or weight loss.

The STOP Obesity Alliance operates out of the Department of Health Policy and brings together consumers, providers, government, labor, business, health insurers and quality-of-care organizations to drive innovative strategies to combat obesity. In 2012, Professor Ferguson was appointed as the Director of the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange. During her appointment, she will maintain a faculty role at the George Washington University, SPHHS, Department of Health Policy. The STOP Obesity Alliance Director role will be taken on by School of Medicine and Health Services faculty Scott Kahan, MD, MPH, who has worked closely as the Alliance’s Clinical Advisor for the last several years.

NEW DEGREE RESPONDS TO SEDENTARY HABITS Increasingly, public health officials must be prepared for the many challenges presented by sedentary lifestyles. Therefore, in fall 2010 SPHHS added a masters of public health-physical activity in public health (MPH-PA) degree. Offered through the Department of Exercise Science, the MPH-PA trains graduate students to integrate physical activity into the core of public health practice. Among other things, the program trains students to be public health scientists and practitioners who can design, implement and evaluate physical activities appropriate for diverse age groups and community settings. It prepares professionals who are able to assist public and private agencies with program development and evaluation in relation to physical activity, health promotion and disease prevention.

The policy recommendation underscored the importance of physical activity in promoting overall health and preventing disease.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

RESEARCH

YOGA: A NEW TREATMENT FOR VETERANS SINCE YOGA HELPS TRAIN PEOPLE TO FOCUS THEIR THOUGHTS, THERE IS EVIDENCE—WITH MORE RESEARCH UNDERWAY—THAT YOGA HOLDS PROMISE AS AN EFFECTIVE PTSD TREATMENT.

Yoga isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when a veteran is diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PSTD). A growing number of yoga practitioners, however, believe the discipline should be among treatment options. The painful reliving of memories, including flashbacks, is often among the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. For veterans, those flashbacks may include disturbing images of combat. Since yoga helps train people to focus their thoughts, there is evidence—with more research underway—that yoga holds promise as an effective PTSD treatment. Preliminary evidence prompted the SPHHS Department of Exercise Science to team up with the Yoga Warriors in March 2011 for a teacher-training workshop. First created in Massachusetts, Yoga Warriors is now a national group that is actively training yoga instructors around the world. Its program is specifically designed to prevent or alleviate symptoms of PTSD and other ailments stemming from high-stress environments. Drawing participants from across the country, the teacher-training workshop provided information on the causes and symptoms of PTSD, the challenges facing PTSD patients and the use of restorative yoga in a therapeutic setting. GW’s Yoga Teacher Education Program, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, began in the fall of 2008 and today has 15 students enrolled. Students take a total of nine credit hours, including a three-credit-hour course on ancient yoga practices and the meaning of life, three technique courses, a teaching methodology course, an anatomy class and a practicum. GW is one of only three universities in the country to offer a 200-hour yoga certification program, which certifies students through the Yoga Alliance—the national education and support organization for yoga.

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EXPANDING AFRICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH CARE WORK FORCE Sub-Saharan Africa shoulders one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest burdens of disease yet struggles with a severe shortage of doctors, nurses and other health professionals. The lack of health care workers can result in dire health consequences for people suffering from AIDS, malaria, cancer and other diseases. A project led by two SPHHS researchers will go a long way toward easing the shortfall of health care professionals in this vast region and might offer solutions for other parts of the world struggling with the same public health problem. Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, the Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at SPHHS, and Seble L. Frehywot, MD, MHSA, an associate research professor in the department of health policy and global health, lead a large multi-center research effort known as the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). GW serves as the Coordinating Center for the project which focuses on three key themes: increasing the quantity and quality of the health care workforce, retaining health care workers, and promoting regionally relevant research. MEPI is a $130 million initiative established by the U.S. government with the goal of training 140,000 new health care workers during the next five years. Such workers, including community health workers, could fan out and provide care to millions of Africans suffering from HIV, AIDS, heart disease, malaria and other serious conditions. The initiative includes 13 African institutions in 12 countries and more than 20 medical schools in the United States and abroad. As part of that overall effort, the GW team received a $12.5 million grant to establish a center that will coordinate all of the grantees, conduct annual site visits, provide technical assistance, and develop a web-based platform to link the African clinicians and researchers with U.S. and other outside collaborators. The SPHHS investigators work directly with the African Center for Global Health and Social Transformation to provide the grantees with the technical expertise they need to expand the workforce. More health care workers in Africa could provide basic care to millions, including people who urgently need antiviral medication and other treatments in order to stay healthy.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA HAS ABOUT 18 PHYSICIANS FOR 100,000 PEOPLE AND STRUGGLES TO ADDRESS A HEAVY BURDEN OF HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER POTENTIALLY DEADLY HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH AN INADEQUATE HEALTH WORKFORCE.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

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LOCATION AND RIGOROUS ACADEMICS BOLSTER GROWTH GWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location in the heart of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital gives SPHHS students unparalleled access to scholarships, residencies, practicum training and job opportunities. Our proximity to the White House, the State Department, the American Red Cross, the World Health Organization and the World Bank is ideal. It provides students and faculty with coveted research opportunities, exposure to private-sector health leaders and interaction with experts in local, national and international public health agencies.

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492 IN 2012 WE WELCOMED 492 NEW GRADUATE STUDENTS, A RECORD NUMBER.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

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U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKS SPHHS 16TH OUT OF 49 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

We have continued a rigorous push to excel academically, and our efforts have gained recognition. U.S. News & World Report ranks SPHHS 16th out of 49 schools of public health. A significant rise in applications has resulted in record-setting enrollment, and in 2011 we welcomed 450 new graduate students and 2012 again saw a record number of applicants. Approximately 20 percent of our students are taking advantage of online programs, including Health Information Technology and Community Health Center Management. By using innovative ways to offer classes, we are providing a world-class public health education to more students. As a leader in public health academics, GW is a perfect venue for experts and governmental agencies to launch national-scale initiatives or engage in debate and dialogue. We host conferences and events to help digest and analyze public health topics, such as one held in July in which former Senator Tom Daschle and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discussed the implications of the historic Supreme Court Decision on the Affordable Care Act. SPHHS students have front row seats in such forums and hear directly from the experts about some of the most pressing public health issues in the United States and around the world. Each of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seven academic departments embraces interdisciplinary cooperation, acknowledging the complex interrelationships among health, politics and human development. Students learn to address public health issues by marshaling research, using analytical skills and developing approaches that bring improved outcomes. Our graduates understand the broad public health arena and are developing and implementing programs and policies to improve lives worldwide. In addition, a new home for SPHHS will consolidate all departments and programs for the first time in our history. Construction has already begun on the state-of-theart facility, which will face Washington Circle and New Hampshire Avenue. Builders are aiming for a LEED gold rating and completion by spring 2014. The building will enhance communication and discovery and further cement the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation as an academic, research and policy powerhouse.

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Former Senator Tom Daschle and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were among the many health policy experts at a SPHHS symposium held to analyze the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on the health reform law.

A MODEL FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION There was a time when public health education was the exclusive realm

Indeed, public health issues have captured the public’s attention with

of graduate students. Today, according to the Chronicle of Higher

news headlines across the spectrum, from oil spills to the obesity

Education, public health is one of the five fastest-growing undergrad-

epidemic to lead in children’s toys, from the H1N1 virus outbreak to

uate majors. GW’s undergraduate program is so popular, in fact, that

food-borne illnesses to the health effects of smoking.

students must sometimes wait to enroll in introductory courses.

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recom-

The GW program is recognized as a national model, in part because

mended that all undergraduates have access to public health education.

one of its long-time advocates is Richard K. Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD,

Three years later, the Association of Schools of Public Health said

professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and founding dean of the

undergraduate public health training was necessary for an educated

School of Public Health and Health Services. He is co-author of the

citizenry. In 2009, the Association of American Colleges and Universities

foundational curriculum for public health undergraduate education and

dedicated an issue of its journal to undergraduate public health. Most

editor of the Essentials of Public Health series, texts for undergraduate

recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services joined the

and graduate students.

bandwagon with Healthy People 2020, a set of science-based goals for

“At last count, only about 16 percent of colleges and universities offer

health and disease prevention over the next decade.

public health majors or minors,” says Dr. Riegelman. “The bottom line is

“The undergraduate public health degree does much more than

that we are creating something different from what is done at the grad-

prepare students to get a job in public health,” says Dr. Riegelman.

uate level, which tends to be more discipline-based. Undergraduate

“It’s about teaching them how to understand public health issues,

programs focus on the breadth of the field, while graduate programs focus

whether they become clinicians, lawyers or business people.”

on its depth—an approach that is catching on nationally.”

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

ACADEMICS

DEAN GOLDMAN, ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPION For six years under the Clinton administration, Dean Goldman was assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. In that position, she led EPA efforts to strengthen the Food Quality Protection Act and overhaul the nation’s pesticide laws. She helped expand citizens’ “right to know” about pollution in their communities and made inroads into the testing of industrial chemicals that may disrupt endocrine systems.

When pediatrician, epidemiologist and educator Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH, was selected in 2010 to serve as dean, GW President Steven Knapp observed, “With her breadth of experience in the field of children’s environmental health, public health practice and chemical regulatory policy, as well as her distinguished career in government, Dr. Lynn Goldman is ideally suited to lead our rapidly emerging School of Public Health and Health Services.” The choice has proved to be a good fit, and the school is thriving under her leadership. SPHHS is one of the nation’s top-ranked schools, with a growing public health undergraduate program and more than a thousand graduate students. “The health of our planet and its people is at a critical juncture,” Dean Goldman says. “The future demands that energy, attention and resources be channeled toward improved health systems, policies, treatments and delivery. The GW School of Public Health and Health Services is poised to contribute to development of strong science-based policies to advance population health in the U.S. and globally.” Dean Goldman—a recognized authority in multiple areas of environmental health and policy—holds appointments as professor of environmental and occupational health and of pediatrics. Immediately prior to joining GW, she was a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Dean Goldman is regularly called upon to testify before Congress on such subjects as pediatric exposure to pesticides. In 2010, in recognition of her work to protect children from toxic chemicals, she received the prestigious Heinz Award. Responding to the honor, she remarked, “A call for regulation against potentially dangerous chemicals is critical to providing what every child is entitled to—nutritious food and a healthy environment.” Before joining the EPA, Dean Goldman held several positions at the California Department of Public Health. She received her MD from the University of California San Francisco and an MPH from the Johns Hopkins University, where she did research on preparedness initiatives and how chemicals affect newborns. Dean Goldman has been active in advancing chemical safety and global environmental health. She is a trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund and co-chair of its Environmental Health Committee. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, where she is vice chair of the Environmental Health Roundtable and a member of the board on Environmental Sciences and Toxicology. She serves on the Food and Drug Administration Science Board and on the Advisory Committee to the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also served as an advisor to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Program and has led multiple committees of the National Academies, most recently on secondhand smoke and the Gulf oil spill. The SPHHS clearly has a dean who leads by example.

SETTING THE COURSE IN PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY As the nation now begins the process of understanding and implementing the historic Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, the School of Public Health and Health Services is forging ahead, intensifying research contributions and strengthening training for the next generation of health policy leaders. One of the school’s pacesetters is Paula M. Lantz, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy. She has confronted some of the most serious health issues in the nation, including cancer prevention, protection of infant health and elimination of the vast inequities in health status and healthcare access in the U.S. Professor Lantz is determined to break down barriers to care, especially obstacles to preventive services. “One of the best ways to keep people out of the emergency rooms and the hospitals is if they’re healthy in the first place,” she says. “Primary care is very important, but let’s push it back even further to primary prevention.” When Professor Lantz stands before students, her research interests come to the forefront: understanding how policy plays into executive decision-making and strategy. For her, it’s all about research that can be translated into public policy, and she praises SPHHS for providing an environment that “engages faculty and students in shaping and implementing health policy on a national and state level.” Professor Lantz joined GW in 2011 from the University of Michigan, where she was the S.J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor of Health Management and Policy and chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy. Asked about her leadership style, she describes it as “collaborative, non-hierarchical yet efficient, and mission driven.”

“ ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THE EMERGENCY ROOMS AND THE HOSPITALS IS IF THEY’RE HEALTHY IN THE FIRST PLACE. PRIMARY CARE IS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT LET’S PUSH IT BACK EVEN FURTHER TO PRIMARY PREVENTION.” – PAULA M. LANTZ, PHD

She has received research funding from major institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She recently received a project award from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study communication strategies regarding evidenced-based guidelines for clinical preventive services. Her work appears, among other publications, in American Journal of Public Health, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Women’s Health and Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

ACADEMICS

ADVOCATING POLICY WITH PURPOSE When Sara Rosenbaum finished law school and began work as a legal services attorney in Vermont, she noticed that her clients’ problems often traced to the same source: the health care system. Some had been denied Medicaid benefits. Others were improperly billed. Still others were being pushed out of nursing homes. That revelation made her think that her work could have a bigger impact. Sara Rosenbaum, JD, found the answer in public policy. “Once you have had individual clients, you appreciate the importance of broad policies that affect countless lives,” she says. “You come to realize the importance of policy solutions that can make entire communities better.” Today a key part of her work involves teaching SPHHS students two skills they need in the public policy arena: how to generate evidence and how to apply that evidence to the analysis and formulation of policy. “The results of research are hardly a linear road to policy,” says Professor Rosenbaum. “So learning to think critically, as a policy analyst must do, is to learn to specialize in health policy.” As a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Bill Clinton, she directed the drafting of the Health Security Act. She also oversaw development of the Vaccines for Children program. Because of her work, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gave her its Investigator Award in Health Policy, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services honored her with its Award for Distinguished Service on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries. Highly regarded as a teacher, Professor Rosenbaum is also a recipient of the Oscar and Shoshanna Trachtenberg Award, the university’s highest recognition for scholarship. She has written extensively in the nation’s leading law and health policy journals on a wide range of topics in U.S. health law and policy and is the leading author of Law and the American Health Care System, which

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definitively addresses the impact of the Affordable Care Act on health law and policy. “I am always on the lookout for students who have a keen desire not only to learn health policy, but also to apply their knowledge to systemic problems that disproportionately affect low-income, medically underserved, or disabled children and adults,” she says. Most recently, Professor Rosenbaum has been lending her expertise to Health Reform GPS, a portal housed at GW and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health Reform GPS offers policymakers, journalists, researchers, analysts and advocates comprehensive information about the Obama administration’s health care reforms and their implementation. The portal also features an online library with federal agency regulations and guidelines, analyses and studies, and a searchable glossary of health reform terms. On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision on the Affordable Care Act, holding in NFIB v Sebelius that the Act was constitutional, while at the same time, issuing a ruling that has far-reaching implications for the Act’s implementation. Within two weeks of the decision, the School, with Professor Rosenbaum playing a vital role, organized a major event that brought to campus HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, former Senator Tom Daschle, and a distinguished panel of leading thinkers on health reform. The event, webcast to all schools of public health, offered an unparalleled opportunity for students, faculty, policymakers and donors to learn about the decision and to interact with Washington health policy leaders. Professor Rosenbaum joined GW in 1991. Six years later, when the school was established, she became founding chair of the Department of Health Policy. She stepped down as chair in 2011 but remains the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law, with additional appointments in the schools of law and medicine.

“ONCE YOU HAVE HAD INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS, YOU APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF BROAD POLICIES THAT AFFECT COUNTLESS LIVES. YOU COME TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT CAN MAKE ENTIRE COMMUNITIES BETTER.” – SARA ROSENBAUM, JD

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS For nearly half a century, community health centers have grown and

In 2004, with initial gifts from health centers throughout the country, the

evolved to become the comprehensive medical home for millions of the

Department of Health Policy established the Geiger Gibson Program in

country’s most medically underserved. Today, more than 1,200 health

Community Health Policy. Named after Drs. H. Jack Geiger and Count

centers serve over 20 million patients in more than 8,000 communities.

Gibson, founders of U.S. health centers, and tireless advocates for

Many health experts have long considered community health centers to be a key part of the solution for the nation’s struggles with health care access and cost. Community health centers are designed to provide health care access to populations and locations that are medically underserved. They offer coordinated care through team-based models and are far more likely to have adopted electronic health record systems. Community health centers and family planning clinics are natural partners, improving comprehensive care for their patients. Reductions in federal health center funding, however, would seriously threaten access

human rights, the program has both education and scholarship as its core missions. In 2007, the Geiger Gibson Program received a $2 million gift from the RCHN Community Health Foundation, followed in 2012 by a second gift. Research into health center achievements and challenges are contained in the rich collection of policy briefs available through a special “Research Collaborative” at the School of Public Health and Health Services, made possible by the Foundation’s gift. Peter Shin, PhD, MPH, associate professor of health policy, directs the Program and its Research Collaborative.

to care for 2.7 million low-income workers in the United States.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

ACADEMICS

50 years

HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP CELEBRATES ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2012.

AT THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTH CARE Information technology is an increasingly influential dynamic in the health care field. Physicians are using the internet to schedule appointments, order supplies, send prescriptions to pharmacies and monitor drug interactions. The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan calls for sweeping IT innovation in medical care. The federal government wants patient medical records converted to digital files by 2014. Leaders of SPHHS’s Health Service Management and Leadership (HSML) program—celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012—understand just how powerful the health care-IT connection can be, and their expertise has brought GW a significant federal grant to develop certificate programs in the burgeoning area of health information technology. The three-year award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced in 2010, is one of the largest training grants ever received by the university. “If you’re going to have health reform, you really need to be able to put together a whole information system that’s easy to use, makes sense and is integrated—and yet has all the protections so that people can’t tap into it,” says Robert E. Burke, PhD, chair of the HSML Department, who led the effort to secure the federal grant. HSML programs are designed for health care leaders, from executives at hospitals and long-term care facilities to members of physician group practices to directors of freestanding ambulatory care centers. The federal award for the IT training program dovetails with the urgent need for tech-savvy health care leadership. As evidence of that, federal stimulus money is available to hospitals and physician groups for IT upgrades and related training to set up, use and maintain the new systems. Through the certification program, HSML is bridging a knowledge divide for two groups: clinicians or health care managers without IT expertise and IT managers without health care experience. Other professionals are also eligible to enroll in the certificate program, which includes a large online learning component. The HSML program offers training tracks for clinicians and public health leaders, health information management and exchange specialists, health information privacy

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and security specialists, and programmers and software engineers. Each 18-credithour program is designed to be completed in six months by full-time students or in a year by part-time students.

“ IF YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE HEALTH REFORM, YOU

Each track expands GW’s existing health services generalist certificate. Credits earned in the certificate program can be applied toward one of the department’s three master’s degree programs.

REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A WHOLE

The certificate program is a multidisciplinary initiative that, in addition to SPHHS, involves the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. GW Medical Faculty Associates is also participating.

INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT’S EASY TO USE,

The HSML Department has received grants to conduct research for the Veteran’s Administration, and it also supports the Military to Medicine Program, through which veterans and military families may gain access to GW’s educational opportunities and HSML alumni. HSML’s extensive alumni network includes more than 3,000 graduates in all 50 states and 19 countries.

MAKES SENSE AND IS

In 2010, U.S. News & World Report ranked HSML 21st in the country, up from number 30 in 2001. The change follows a revitalization that boosted the size of the faculty, expanded the breadth of HSML electives, increased the number of students in each class and saw a jump in the number of program applicants.

PEOPLE CAN’T TAP INTO IT.”

INTEGRATED—AND YET HAS ALL THE PROTECTIONS SO THAT

– ROBERT E. BURKE, PhD

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

ACADEMICS

CELESTE MONFORTON: STRONG ADVOCATE FOR WORKER SAFETY

“WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WORKER SAFETY, WE OFTEN THINK ABOUT MINING EQUIPMENT AND PERSONAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT, BUT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS HOW THE EMPLOYER’S BUSINESS PRACTICES INFLUENCE THE WORK ENVIRONMENT.” –CELESTE MONFORTON, DR.P.H., MPH

When a 2010 explosion left 29 men dead at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia—the country’s deadliest mining disaster in 40 years—the press and the public called on Professor Celeste Monforton for perspective. The SPHHS alumna, DrPH ’08, MPH ’04, has made her mark safeguarding workers. “When we think about worker safety, we often think about mining equipment and personal safety equipment, but we have to think about other factors, such as how the employer’s business practices influence the work environment,” says Professor Monforton, explaining her approach to investigations. Working alongside state and federal teams, the Upper Big Branch panel examined physical evidence at the mine, reviewed company and regulatory documents, and conducted interviews of 270 witnesses. The team’s report, which was delivered a year after the explosion, carried more than 50 recommendations for improving safety for mine workers. “We weren’t just interested in the mechanics of what went wrong,” Professor Monforton says, “but also what it was about the way this mine and this company operated that led to a disaster of this magnitude.” The Upper Big Branch wasn’t her first mine investigation. As a researcher in occupational health and safety, she interrupted her doctoral studies in 2006 to serve on a government team investigating the Sago, West Virginia, explosion that trapped 13 miners and killed all but one. The team’s recommendations were taken seriously, and mine operators are now required to build “refuge chambers” where miners can find a 96-hour emergency supply of food, water and oxygen. Although best known for her work in mine safety, Professor Monforton has been involved in other research as well, publishing papers evaluating the effectiveness of safety training on work-related injuries and fatalities, documenting the link between asbestos and disease among auto mechanics, and exposing efforts by industry groups to oppose protections for workers from toxic substances. When SPHHS students enroll in Professor Monforton’s classes, they are gaining access to a world-renowned expert and advocate on the front lines of worker safety and health. As a professorial lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, she has won accolades for bringing environmental and

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IN BOTH 2010 AND 2011, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PUBLICATION EHS TODAY NAMED PROFESSOR MONFORTON ONE OF “THE 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY LEADERS.”

occupational health up close and personal. She has taken students to visit a sewage treatment plant, had them don protective firefighting gear at a firehouse, and helped them remove plastics and polystyrene foam from the Potomac River. She also brings to her classroom valuable insider knowledge of how the federal government works. She spent six years at the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor and five years in the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. She frequently finds herself on Capitol Hill testifying before Congress on worker safety issues, and she is a leader in the Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association. Professor Monforton is a regular source for the New York Times, and she contributes at least twice a week to the public health blog, The Pump Handle, which is hosted by National Geographic’s ScienceBlog. Her installments cover a broad spectrum, from black lung disease to the risks of being hired as a day laborer. In both 2010 and 2011, occupational health publication EHS Today named her one of “The 50 Most Influential Environment, Health and Safety Leaders.” In 2010, the National Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) awarded Professor Monforton its Tony Mazzocchi Award for Advocacy, given to “people who have demonstrated great dedication to the cause of worker health and safety and made a significant contribution over a period of years to the COSH movement.”

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

ACADEMICS

GLOBAL HEALTH “MINI-U” REMAINS A SIGNATURE EVENT

Photo Courtesy of Biomedical Communications, The George Washington University

One day each year, public health students and professionals, representatives from government agencies, members of the military, leaders from international and nonprofit organizations, and members of the public come to GW for a free symposium dubbed the Global Health Mini-University. In 2012, the “Mini-U,” sponsored by SPHHS and USAID, marked its 12th anniversary with a crowd of more than 1,300 people. Those in attendance chose from among 70 hour-long seminars featuring a range of topics, from the importance of nutrition in the earliest stages of child development to the role of new technologies in global health initiatives. USAID Administrator Raj Shah’s keynote address focused on children’s health. He encouraged Mini-U participants to maintain “the basic commitment to save the most lives in the least fortunate settings on the planet.” “We’re forced sometimes to react to the loudest advocacy groups or to be most responsive to the politics in the moment, but you can help us set a new tone,” he said. “You can learn about these issues earlier in the course of your careers, as you are doing today. You can become a voice for change and for effectiveness, for greater investment, and for a more sane approach to how we tend to talk about and think about our work in global health.” Shah said his agency is dedicated to reducing the number of children worldwide under the age of five who die each year. “We can save 40 percent of those 8 million kids with simple, cost-effective, proven and known strategies,” he added, pointing to global distribution of vaccines, implementation of malaria-prevention techniques and continued outreach against HIV/AIDS. He also affirmed his agency’s commitment to maternal health, an area he said has historically suffered from “dramatic underinvestment.” He noted that by improving access to skilled birth attendants, for example, 30 percent of the 300,000 women who die each year in childbirth can be saved.

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Photo Courtesy of Biomedical Communications, The George Washington University

The previous Mini-U also covered a spectrum of topics, including family planning, religion and health, tuberculosis, HIV prevention, immunization, health insurance and behavior change. Anne Peterson, MD, MPH, research professor of global health, was involved in a presentation titled “Injuries: A Global Perspective,” while Lone Simonsen, PhD, research professor of global health, talked about the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in the context of historic pandemics. Sarah Baird, PhD, assistant professor of global health, presented her research showing how a cash transfer program affected education, sexual behavior and the risk of HIV/STD among schoolage women in Malawi. “Mini-U is always a great supplement to the learning we do in classes,” said Katie Morris, a global health student at the 2010 event. “It brought together extremely knowledgeable presenters with a very well-informed audience, which provided for great presentations and even better discussions.”

NEW FELLOWSHIP FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS According to current estimates, more than 20 million patients across the United States have come to rely on community health centers for their primary health care needs. Increasingly, the health center model is considered a comprehensive solution for providing cost-effective access to care for the medically underserved. Despite their success, however, community health centers struggle to reduce health care disparities and address the growing population of patients with complex medical problems. A new SPHHS fellowship, the Julio Bellber Fellowship in Community Health Policy Research, aims to develop the next generation of scholars dedicated to the continued transformation of community health centers. It also seeks to prepare leaders in policy research around these issues. “Investment in advanced training is a critical element in the development of policy research expertise in community health centers and medically underserved populations,” says Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy. “The Bellber Fellowship will help create a new generation of scholars in this vital area of health policy.” The fellowship represents a partnership between the GW School of Public Health and Health Services and the Ryan Community Health Network (RCHN) Community Health Foundation, which provided a $1.75 million gift in 2011 to create the fellowship. The foundation is the only not-for-profit health care foundation in the country dedicated solely to community health centers. “Training a cadre of researchers and scholars who will be focused on community health centers is critical,” says Julio Bellber, president and CEO of RCHN Community Health Foundation. “If we’re going to grow, we have to get people interested in the health center story and engage them in telling it. We need to nurture the talent of our communities, our doctors and our scholars.” The Bellber Fellowship, housed in the Department of Health Policy, is a two-year early career research fellowship that includes a competitive salary and additional resources for research and professional activities. Bellber fellows receive mentoring from scholars

and practitioners engaged in health policy and health services research affecting community health centers. That includes attention to Medicaid, the health care workforce, quality of care, health informatics, health care reform and the social determinants of health. The fellowship also provides exposure to the populations served by community health centers and to the professional associations focused on the medically underserved, including the National Association of Community Health Centers, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors and AcademyHealth. In August 2012, Carmen Alvarez, PhD, was awarded the first Julio Bellber Fellowship. She aims to focus her research on policy issues faced by vulnerable populations and the health care safety net, including community health centers. Bellber was an early activist and administrator for neighborhood health clinics in New York City. He spearheaded a successful clinic model, which he expanded into one of the largest community health center networks in the state of New York. “Community health centers are an excellent model,” Bellber says. “They are efficient, they are affordable, and they provide excellent care.” The Bellber Fellowship reflects the most recent collaboration between the foundation and SPHHS. In 2007 the foundation gave a $2 million gift to the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy. That contribution—the largest ever to SPHHS—funded creation of the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative, a comprehensive academic and research initiative focused on community health centers. The original grant was followed by several additional gifts, including the gift to establish the new fellowship. The partnership has also helped develop policy briefs and has engaged in research on topics related to community health centers.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

STUDENT PROFILE

STUDENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE Cody Unser has carved out an unusual place for herself at the School of Public Health and Health Services—as a “WE SHOULD EXPLORE EVERY OPPORTUNITY AND NOT COUNT ANYTHING OUT, BECAUSE I CAN’T WAIT. AND I KNOW MILLIONS OF AMERICANS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE CAN’T WAIT.” –CODY UNSER

student, a social entrepreneur and a policy researcher focused on the disease that has left her paralyzed from the chest down since she was 12. Unser has transverse myelitis (TM), a rare neurological disorder in which the immune system attacks the protective myelin that coats the nerve cells of the spinal cord. After her diagnosis in 1999, Unser launched the nonprofit First Step Foundation to raise awareness of TM. “We focus on research and quality of life issues and policy issues,” she says of the foundation’s work. Unser, who is the daughter of Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., has starred in a documentary about living with paralysis. “Cody’s First Step” was produced by Christopher Reeve Productions and narrated by actress Glenn Close. In addition, she enrolled at GW, where she studies health policy. In 2010, she put her policy studies into practice when she advocated on Capitol Hill in favor of federally funded embryonic stem cell research. “Washington, D.C., is the heart of politics,” she says. “This is where I know I can make the largest difference.” At the Senate hearing, she observed, “Science is the pursuit of discovery and possibility. We should explore every opportunity and not count anything out, because I can’t wait. And I know millions of Americans now and in the future can’t wait.” Currently on a leave of absence, Cody intends to finish her degree in the near future.

PROGRESS REPORT

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

PROGRESS REPORT

1924 1942

Iodine added to table salt to prevent goiter.

First civilian life saved by penicillin in the United States.

1980

On April 24, San Francisco resident Ken Horne becomes the first recognized case of AIDS in the United States.

GW Professor Gary Simon, MD, PhD; director, Division of Infectious Diseases; vice chair, Department of Medicine; and co-director of the D.C. D-CFAR, diagnoses the first recognized HIV/AIDS patient in the District of Columbia.

‘90

W’s Master in G Public Health degree program receives full accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health.

1981

1978

A Portuguese man known as Señor José (Mr. Joseph) dies of what is later confirmed to be the first known infection of HIV-2.

1965

President Johnson signs the Medicare and Medicaid Act.

1977

1964

The U.S. Surgeon General publishes the first report on Smoking and Health.

GW offers its first Master in Public Health degree.

The Centers for Disease Control creates the Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention.

1962

The first class from what is now the Health Services Management and Leadership Department graduates from GW’s School of Business.

1970

1955

Jonas Edward Salk, MD, develops the first polio vaccine.

‘86

Congress establishes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),; and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

1948

‘81

United Nations establishes the World Health Organization.

The first class from what is now the Health Services Management and Leadership Department graduates from GW’s School of Business.

Grand Rapids, Mich., becomes the world’s first city to adjust the level of 1945 fluoride in its water supply.

1918

1906

Congress enacts the first Federal Food and Drug Act.

Spanish flu, the first major influenza pandemic, kills an estimated 50 million to 100 million people worldwide.

1854

English physician John Snow develops the foundation of what would become epidemiology by tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, to a tainted well.

1796

‘62

British physician Edward Jenner tests the possibility of using the cowpox vaccine as an immunization for smallpox in humans.

PUBLIC HEALTH TIMELINE ‘97

W’s School of Public G Health and Health Services is formally chartered, becoming the university’s eighth school. Richard Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD, a faculty member at GW since 1978, is named founding dean.

1998 1999

2000 2003

The FDA requires enriched grain products to be fortified with folic acid.

Driver and front-passenger airbags are required in cars for the first time in the U.S.

Human genes are mapped by the Human Genome Project.

Ruth Katz, JD, MPH, becomes the second dean of SPHHS.

2010

President Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law.

2014

2010

Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH, becomes the third dean of SPHHS.

PHHS teams with Jones S and Bartlett Inc., one of the largest publishers of public health books, to produce a comprehensive new series of texts, the Essentials of Public Health series. To date the series has produced more than 20 volumes.

The new SPHHS building is scheduled to open in spring 2014.

2009

The EPA declares greenhouse gases a danger to public health.

‘10

2012

2009

A nationwide H1N2 influenza vaccination campaign begins in the U.S.

‘04

The United States Supreme Court the upholds the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

2005

Hurricane Katrina devastates the American South.

2004

1997

GW’s School of Public Health and Health Services is formally chartered, becoming the university’s eighth school. Richard Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD, a faculty member at GW since 1978, is named founding dean. PHHS becomes one of S the few institutions in the country to offer an undergraduate degree in public health.

SPHHS teams with Jones and Bartlett Inc., one of the largest publishers of public health books, to produce a comprehensive new series of texts, the Essentials of Public Health series. To date the series has produced more than 20 volumes.

1993

The first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) is identified in a U.S. cow.

Ruth Katz, JD, MPH, becomes the second dean of SPHHS.

2003

1990

GW’s Master in Public Health degree program receives full accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health.

‘03

SPHHS becomes one of the few institutions in the country to offer an undergraduate degree in public health.

1986

GW offers its first Master in Public Health degree.

‘03 ‘14

Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH, becomes the third dean of SPHHS. The new SPHHS building is scheduled to open in spring 2014.

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

FINANCIALS

SPHHS FINANCIAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2011 REVENUE Research – Direct

$ 31.0

44.5%

Research – Indirect

$ 4.1

5.9%

Tuition & Fees

$ 32.5

46.6%

Gifts & Pledges

$ 1.1

1.6%

Other Revenue

$ 0.3

0.4%

Endowments

$ 0.7

1.0%

$ 69.7

EXPENDITURES Research

$ 35.1

50.6%

Salaries

$ 14.5

20.9%

Operations

$ 5.0

7.2%

UG Dean’s Tax

$ 4.9

7.1%

Student Support

$ 1.2

1.7%

Allocations

$ 7.6

11.0%

Capital Projects

$ 1.0

1.4%

$ 69.3

PROGRESS REPORT

FISCAL YEAR 2012 REVENUE Research – Direct

$ 36.2

46.8%

Research – Indirect

$ 4.6

5.9%

Tuition & Fees

$ 34.7

44.8%

Gifts & Pledges

$ 0.4

0.5%

Other Revenue

$ 0.8

1.0%

Endowments

$ 0.7

0.9%

$ 77.4

EXPENDITURES Research

$ 4 0.8

50.2%

Salaries

$ 18.8

23.2%

Operations

$ 5.0

6.2%

UG Dean’s Tax

$ 5.5

6.8%

Student Support

$ 1.5

1.8%

Allocations

$ 8.6

Capital Projects

$ 1.0

10.6% 1.2%

$81.2

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

FINANCIALS

SPHHS REVENUE TREND Fiscal Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

2012

Tuition $19.0 $21.6 $22.2 $24.6 $25.8 $28.5 $30.6 $32.5 $34.7 Research $13.5 $10.5 $13.7 $17.0 $22.3 $29.8 $32.7 $35.1 $40.8 Total $32.5 $32.1 $35.9 $41.6 $48.1 $58.3 $63.3 $67.6 $75.5

$80.0

Total $70.0

Tuition Research

$60.0

$50.0

$40.0

$30.0

$20.0

$10.0

$0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

PROGRESS REPORT

2012

GW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

EVENTION PUBLIC HEA OLICY EXERCISE PRACT OBAL PREVENTION PU OMMUNITY POLICY EX IDEMIOLOGY GLOBAL FE AIR WATER COMMU AINING EPIDEMIOLOG EALTH LIFE AIR WATER ACTICE TRAINING EPID UBLIC HEALTH LIFE AIR XERCISE PRACTICE TRA www.sphhs.gwu.edu