Region IV Public Health Training Center

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on August 6, 2008. Training Overview This webinar is presented in partnership with the Georgia Society for Public Health Education (GASOPHE) and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). How do you make data the hero in a world of anecdotes? How do you transport a general audience on an epic tale of evidence-based adventure? Can you find the secret to persuading audiences to change their behavior? Travel with us into the world of message development and learn how crafting the right calls to action can help your key audiences on their journeys to better health. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer At Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, one of the largest pediatric healthcare organizations nationally, Ms. Rohe oversaw clinical and operational communications for the medical staff, managed serious infectious disease communications, and led several flagship public affairs efforts, including the award-winning launch of the clinically integrated network, The Children's Care Network. She was assistant director for news and information at The Carter Center, which houses the press office for former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter. She supported publicity and social media for the Center's Health Programs. She traveled with President and Mrs. Carter to Haiti/Dominican Republic, South Sudan, and San Diego, CA, and brought documentary film crews to Ethiopia and Liberia to cover the Center’s work. She began her career in Washington, D.C., working for APCO Worldwide, a public affairs consultancy, and has since completed freelance writing and social media projects for several nonprofits and academic institutions. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a live webinar held on March 22, 2024. Training Overview: Poor nutrition is associated with early disease and death in the United States due to the increased risk for diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While poor nutrition can affect anyone, not all Americans have consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food. This talk will cover evidence-based nutrition interventions that are part of state and community efforts to improve nutrition security. The webinar will touch on nutrition standards within early care and education (childcare), food banks and pantries, as well as food service guidelines that can be used in parks and recreation, worksites, hospitals, and other community settings. The webinar will also discuss community fruit and vegetable programs, including voucher incentives and Produce Prescription programs to help individuals become more food secure and help support chronic disease self-management. CDC’s web resources, such as Data, Trends, Maps, and its State and Community Media Center, which hosts nutrition content for reaching consumer audiences, will be provided. About the Presenter: Heidi Michels Blanck, Ph.D., (Retired, Captain USPHS), Branch Chief, Obesity Prevention and Control, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Blanck serves as CDC’s Chief of Community Nutrition and Obesity Prevention and Control. In this capacity, she supports teams working on national and state nutrition and obesity surveillance, applied research, and technical assistance to state and local partners to improve health and nutrition security through early childcare and education (ECE) programs, nutrition standards, fruit and vegetable community programs, and family healthy weight programs to support healthy child growth.  Dr. Blanck also supports research-practitioner partnerships, including the Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN) and the National Collaborative for Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR). Dr. Blanck received her Ph.D. in Nutrition and Health Science from Emory University and her M.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan. CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation and resources module. After accessing these modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Bridging the AI Gap: From Pilot Projects to Sustainable AI Governance in Public Health  Note: This is a recording of a live webinar held on February 10, 2026.  Training Overview: Uncover the paradox facing public health today: more than 75% of agencies are experimenting with AI tools, yet 85% still lack the governance policies needed to use them responsibly. This session will discuss findings from a landmark survey of 25+ state and local health departments, exploring the critical gap between AI enthusiasm and responsible implementation. Learn how to navigate concerns around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and public trust while harnessing AI's transformative efficiency. Walk away with a practical readiness checklist to move your organization from experimentation to sustainable AI adoption.    About the Presenter: Anil Jain, MD, FACP, is Chief Innovation Officer at Innovaccer. He brings extensive experience from IBM Watson Health, Cleveland Clinic, and Explorys to drive clinical informatics, interoperability, and digital transformation. Dr. Jain leads the development of Innovaccer’s Health Cloud innovations to unify data and workflows across care ecosystems.  Nate Wienert is the Area Vice President, Public Sector at Innovaccer. With over two decades of experience in healthcare, Nate offers a diverse perspective on programs serving the nation's most vulnerable communities. At Innovaccer, Nate collaborates with health and human service clients, utilizing our cutting-edge data integration, analytics, and value-based payment solutions to elevate health outcomes. Britteny Matero is a Partner and Senior Vice President at Innsena, a health care technology go-to-market consultancy. Britteny works closely with health tech companies, HIEs, and state and federal partners to identify opportunities that support healthcare strategies and advance critical initiatives. Britteny oversees the Market Access line-of-business. Britteny comes to Innsena from Collective Medical where she was the Sr. Director of Government Relations, Public Policy and Social Impact. Prior to that she spent nearly 12 years in state and local government. As a Director/Manager with Oregon Health Authority's (OHAs) Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT), she helped establish Oregon's public-private partnership for statewide health IT adoption and spread, oversaw health information exchange (HIE) and interoperability programs, and also managed the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program  CERTIFICATE: The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation module. After accessing these modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on April 4, 2016. Training Overview The vision and mission of an organization cannot be accomplished without a carefully crafted strategic plan. A strategic plan with its objectives and action plans cannot be implemented without the allocation of resources in proportion to scope and scale of the action plans. This webinar will present to public health professionals the association between strategies and budgets, the types of budgets, the process of formulating a budget using a case study from a local public health department, and the fundamentals of measuring budget effectiveness. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer Andrew C. Rucks, Ph.D. Dr. Rucks is a professor in the department of Health Care Organization and Policy, Director of Finance and Administration, and Executive Director of the Survey Research Unit. Dr. Rucks has almost 30 years of academic and business experience. Dr. Rucks has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed papers and has more than 30 years of experience in project management. He serves as Executive Director of the Survey Research Unit of the UAB School of Public Health. He holds a PhD in management science from the University of North Texas. He served as an Investigator in the Alabama-Mississippi Local Planning Site (LPS) of the Region IV Public Health Training Center (PHTC). This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on April 22, 2021. The Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center co-sponsored this webinar. Training Overview The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a second pandemic of stress, anxiety and fear. As public health workers, your work has a unique level of stress during this time. We are best able to maintain our mental health through these difficult times if we stay aware of the effects of stress, take steps to stay mentally healthy, and maintain connections with others. This webinar will offer information on awareness, self-care and connection with others so public health workers can develop a plan for maintaining their mental health. We will discuss common issues such as coping with fear, anxiety and loss; changing work demands; navigating family relationships; and coping with an uncertain future as the pandemic continues. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 70 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer Dr. Mark R. Evces is a psychologist in private practice and co-editor, with Gertie Quitangon, MD, of Vicarious Trauma and Disaster Mental Health: Understanding Risks and Promoting Resilience, published by Routledge Press.  He is founder of WorkHaven Consulting Group, a team of clinical psychologists helping nonprofit organizations foster well-being and psychological resilience. Prior to his consulting work, Dr. Evces was the Assistant Director of Mental Health in the NYU School of Medicine WTC Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence (NYUSOM CCE) and Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. His research has examined the effects of psychotherapy on reducing posttraumatic stress in first responders. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on December 7, 2017. Training Overview This webinar will discuss an overview of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of State and Local Readiness and Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Program, including the following: Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, State and Local Operational Readiness, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Resources, and Role of Public Health in Emergency Response. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer Harald Pietz Mr. Pietz has served as a CDC Branch Chief; Senior Advisor; Environmental Protection Specialist; Management Analyst; Emergency Management Specialist; Public Health Advisor, and Personnel Generalist.   He has a wealth of experience and has been actively engaged in emergency preparedness and response for over a decade, starting with September 11 and anthrax attacks and continued through SARS; Monkey Pox; Space Shuttle Columbia; hurricanes Isabel, Katrina, Rita, Ivan, Gustav, Ike, Harvey, Irma, and Maria; various white powder and Ricin threats; H1N1; Haiti earthquake; Ebola and Zika. He serves in leadership within the State Coordination Task Force when it is activated for public health emergency responses.  He has supported planning and preparedness for National Special Security Events, Presidential Inaugurations, and served as the Deputy for the HHS Secretary’s Emergency Response Team for the G-8 Summit. He has a BA from Jacksonville State University in political science, cum laude. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more