NDSU will be a host institution for the Public Health Associate Program for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Karla Checo, a CDC civil service employee known as a public health associate, will be assigned to NDSU’s American Indian Public Health Resource Center. During her two-year assignment, Checo will assist with the center’s efforts to address American Indian public health disparities in partnership with tribes. She will contribute to developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs for disease prevention, health promotion and protection, and improvement of access to services. She will work to enhance state, tribal and local capacity through consultation, demonstration and technical support.
Melanie Nadeau, operational director of the NDSU American Indian Public Health Resource Center, is excited the center has been selected as a host site. “There are more sites than associates, so we are very fortunate to have been matched with Karla,” Nadeau said.
Nadeau said Checo will become part of the center’s public health team that works in partnership with tribes, providing technical assistance in a variety of areas, including policy development, self-determination feasibility analysis, education, research and programming in North Dakota, the Northern Plains and throughout the nation.
According to the agreement, NDSU will provide a robust public health learning experience, supervisor involvement, guidance and mentoring, and prepare quarterly reports on the associate’s progress as a public health professional.
“I recently visited several host sites in northern California and Alaska and continue to be impressed by the variety of experiences, types of work and subject matter that associates are getting exposed to in their host sites,” Heather Duncan, Public Health Associate Program director, wrote in the latest program newsletter. “The assignments and opportunities you all provide are essential to our program's success.”
The associate program is pursuant to section 214 of the Public Health Service Act.
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