University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Program: Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology (GET PHIT)

Contact: GET PHIT <getphit@uth.tmc.edu>; Susan Fenton <Susan.H.Fenton@uth.tmc.edu>; Kimberly Baker <kimberly.baker@uth.tmc.edu>

# of students to be trained: 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students and 500 members of public health workforce

Program Type: New Program

The goal of the Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology (GET PHIT) Consortium is to train 500 existing public and clinical health professionals on informatics and health IT, while preparing an additional 1,400 students, primarily from historically underrepresented backgrounds, to fill a variety of public health roles. This will be accomplished using asynchronous professional development courses, summer boot camps, undergraduate curriculum modules, graduate courses for certificates, and graduate degrees. GET PHIT is committed to helping students in the program find gainful employment in public health informatics if desired. To facilitate these efforts, GET PHIT will actively solicit job openings from the many public health and clinical partners of the consortium. These opportunities will be distributed to students seeking employment and career services staff of those consortium partners with career centers. Services for students will include creating an impactful resume, interviewing effectively, and building a professional LinkedIn profile. These services will be provided at the sites of consortium partners with career centers and by UTHealth Houston personnel when formal career centers are not available.

Partners and consortia members: Border Regional Behavioral Health Center, Cameron County, City of El Paso, City of Houston, City of Laredo, Dallas County, Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council, Greater Houston Health Connect, Greater Houston Partnership, Harris Health System, Harris County, Health Equality Collective, HIMSS-Dallas/Fort Worth, HIMSS-Houston, Holding Institute Community Center, Huston-Tillotson University, Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, National Association of County and City Health Officials, Paso del Norte Foundation, PILLAR – The Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation, Prairie View A&M University, Serving Children and Adults in Need, Tarrant County, Texas A&M International University, Texas Association of City and County Health Officials, Texas Association of Promoters and Community Health Workers, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas e-Health Alliance, Texas Health Information Management Association, Texas Health Services Authority, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Texas Workforce Commission, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas Permian Basin, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.