In December, the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved a new Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies. With this new degree, the School of Nursing and Health Studies will offer three degree programs for a growing workforce need.
“Public health research and teaching has been a strength of the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies. The development of this formal degree program was a natural and efficacious way to capitalize on the strengths of our faculty and staff who are actively involved in projects that protect the health of the public on the national, state and local levels,” said Ann Cary, dean of the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies.
The new public health degree and major builds on the minor in public health now offered in the health science program. Courses for the new public health degree can be organized into a minor in public health for students from other majors as well, including criminal justice, social work, urban planning, public policy, civil engineering, business, psychology, basic sciences, dental hygiene, nursing, biology and pre-professional programs.
“We are excited about the opportunity to provide a public health degree program to meet the demand for a growing, diverse public health workforce,” said Jamie Hunt, teaching assistant professor and program director for public health and health sciences. “This program complements the existing Bachelor of Health Sciences degree and will prepare outstanding health professionals to succeed in public health’s ultimate goal of promoting population health, preventing disease, improving health outcomes and quality of life, and ensuring access to healthy communities through evidence-based solutions.”
The new public health degree advances UMKC’s strategic plan goal to excel in the life sciences and addresses community and workforce needs for more health professions practitioners.
Read more about the new program on .
In related news, the School of Nursing and Health Studies received a grant from the National Institute of Health to study intensive-care patients. Researchers believe a specialized recovery program, delivered in the patient’s home, can reduce the incidence of acute respiratory failure among those discharged from ICUs. A $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute funds the implementation and evaluation of a novel mobile critical-care recovery program by researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies.
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Reviewed 2017-02-24