CHC staff presented at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting in San Diego this year. The Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of public health professionals with over 10,000 attendees; the theme for 2018 was “Health Equity Now” aligning directly with the mission and vision of CHC.
Our Chief Program Officer, Sonya Vasquez presented on the “Healthy Kids Zone” project where she shared the results of the project thus far, best practices, and what our next steps will be. The presentation, part of a series, allowed CHC to discuss with like-minded organizations the importance of enabling healthier communities by uplifting residents and empowering them to create change. Conversations from the presentation led to valuable networking connections and ideas to help advance this work. More information on our HKZ project can be found here.
Our Community Liaison, Bhavika Patel presented on the “Health Advocates: Youth of Color Healthcare Pipeline Project”. This poster presentation highlighted the first iteration of our project in which sixteen high school students interned at St. John’s Well Child and Family Center learning about clinic operations, healthcare careers, and professional development. Through this presentation, CHC was able to identify multiple organizations throughout the country that are also engaging in similar work, in varying capacities. The final report for this project can be found here.
Presentations such as these have given CHC the opportunity to present our work at a national level. The conference is a nexus of likeminded public health professionals with different perspectives from around the world. It is important for staff to continue sharing our work on platforms such as this so we can expand our work and continue collaborating with organizations fighting for health equity. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to many more!