First published on April 6, 2015 in observance of the COPH’s 30^th anniversary celebration.

Dr. Karen Liller has been a child and adolescent injury prevention researcher for a quarter of a century.  A professor in the USF College of Public Health’s Department of Community and Family Health and a member of the Florida Injury Prevention Advisory Group, she worked with a Tampa General program called More Health in the mid-1990s to help evaluate its health education programs.  One of those programs promoted bicycle helmets for children.

Dr. Karen Liller

“I evaluated their program, and I started observational studies of children’s bicycle helmet use in Hillsborough County,” Liller said.  “I was monitoring this because, as part of the Injury Group, I knew this bill had been denied two times before.  We were all part of the advocacy efforts with Tallahassee between the state of Florida program, More Health and the college to get this passed.”

A natural proponent of requiring kids to wear helmets when they rode their bikes, Liller had her interest piqued.  From casual observation alone, she surmised that few were.  Determined to put scientifically collected numbers to the problem, she and a cadre of her graduate students set about the task of collecting data.

From low expectations to high hopes, then action

“I was focused on unintentional injuries in children,” she said.  “Nationally, this was a huge issue.  I had some colleagues at Harborview Injury Prevention Program in the state of  Washington, and they were some of the early leaders nationally in helmet use.  So I naturally got very, very interested and started looking, started conducting observational studies, because I didn’t know:  What is the helmet use rate? “I developed and performed community observations,” she said.  “I would hire my grad assistants, and they would stand on corners doing observational surveys of kids in helmets.  We mapped out the whole county, and I had them on streets everywhere.  We had a whole protocol of where we wanted to be, because we wanted to capture observational surveys in many different places – in community sites, in schools, not near schools, etc., so we had a good idea of what was going on in Hillsborough County.”

As low as Liller’s expectations were, reality turned out to be even worse.

“I can tell you, it was pitifully low,” she said.  “For children under 16, it was about three percent.”

Liller set out on a concentrated campaign to get a helmet law passed.  It already had languished and died in two previous legislative sessions, and she was determined to make the third try count.

“I did many radio spots and TV spots and Good Morning Whomever promoting bicycle helmets as the law was working its way through the legislature,” she recalled.

“I wanted to get ahold of it,” she said, “because I knew this was a national issue, and I knew states were starting to pass laws.  Florida is a tough state to get a law passed for children’s injury prevention.  In fact, we just got the booster seat law done.  We were one of the last states to do that.  I knew it was going to be a battle.  So, I knew I’d better get started early.” Liller learned through focus groups that legislators weren’t the only people she needed to convince.  Some parents didn’t want a law telling them to put helmets on their kids’ heads.  After all, bicycle shops already were selling more helmets.  McDonald’s was giving out helmet discount coupons and safe rider certificates.  Why should there be a legal mandate?

“My answer to them was, ‘Do you have a driver’s license?  Yes?  Well, the government told you to do that.’

“It always surprised me when parents would argue with me on this issue.  The famous one for me was, ‘I rode a bike all the time when I was a kid, and I never got a head injury.’  I’d say, ‘When was that?  Where was that?’  And it would be some idyllic little community in some other state, and I’d say, ‘Try riding a bike in Tampa now, and get back to me on that.  The world has changed.  The roads have changed.  The danger level has changed.”

Clearly, the law’s chief proponent had taken on a daunting task, but being part of the state’s first college of public health had its rewards.  Dr. Charles Mahan, state health director under Gov. Lawton Chiles, was a valuable ally.  COPH was still the only school of public health in Florida, and COPH professors were trekking all the way to Tallahassee to teach weekly classes at the state health department office.  Through the department’s close working relationship with COPH, Mahan already had known Liller and had been supportive of her efforts.

Dr. Charles Mahan

“We knew that Karen was really focused on getting a child helmet law through, and certainly, we were very much in favor of that,” said Mahan, who was COPH dean by the time the measure was in its third incarnation.  Mahan had known Chiles since well before the latter began his two terms as governor.

When Mahan was a medical student at the University of Florida, Chiles became interested in his work on infant mortality.  Personal and professional bonds soon followed.

“When he was a senator, I would go around the country and hold hearings with him,” Mahan recalled.  “He would do all the talking, but I would help him figure out what to say, depending on what the issue was.”

Mahan knew the governor well enough to know he was predisposed to children’s health issues.

“Any issue related to children was something that Gov. and Mrs. Chiles were supportive of,” Mahan said.  “Anything that needed his support on children’s issues for safety or survival or whatever, he would tell the staff – me and everyone else – to make sure that it got supported.” With the encouragement of a popular governor, the proposal was gaining momentum.  The awareness raised by the news of the pending legislation helped engender educational outreaches that helped the ball roll faster.

“Betty Castor, who became president of USF, was head of education at the time,” Mahan said, “and the school systems jumped right in with educational efforts.”

Those collective efforts eventually generated the irresistible momentum that carried the measure over the finish line.

“With Charlie’s support and the governor’s, on the third attempt, it was successful,” Liller said.  “And I testified and did a variety of things locally, as well, for the bill.  A colleague of mine also did a cost-effectiveness study, and he also testified with that in Tallahassee.  I think it was a combination of all of these things.  We kept sending the legislators our research findings, and with all the backing, eventually, in 1996, the bill passed.”

A victory not etched in stone

“Bike helmets are an investment we should make to ensure our children’s health and safety,” Chiles declared as he signed the bill onto law.

The measure became effective on Jan. 1, 1997, and for the next 12 months, it was easy for anyone to live with.  A violator would receive a warning and a bicycle safety brochure.  As of Jan. 1, 1998, however, that brochure was delivered with a $17 citation.  It was a light fine as fines go, and even it could be circumvented.

“After the first year, you could get a fine if the child was riding, was under the age of 16 and didn’t have a helmet on,” Liller said, “but you could get around that if you could show evidence of a bicycle helmet.”

That, of course, was only when the law was enforced, which, according to Liller, wasn’t – and still isn’t – very often.

“Police are very reluctant,” she said.  “I talk to them about how many tickets they’ve given, and usually the answer is ‘none,’ at least in Hillsborough County.  They’re very reluctant to stop a child on a bike.”

Nonetheless, she said, by 1998, helmet use had risen exponentially, to 67 percent in Hillsborough County.  So even without much enforcement, the law was accomplishing its purpose.

“I think the law has been great,” Liller said.  “We did an analysis of its efficacy.  We did show that helmet use has gone up, and we showed that injuries have gone down.  And that was great.  That was the intent of the law.  Injury prevention does its best, many times, when there’s a policy change or a legislative change, because it just reaches more people.”

Mahan agreed. “Having it as law is a big awareness raiser,” he said.  “It gets all over the papers and the news again and again.  The legislature is considering this measure.  That’s news.  The legislature passed it today.  That’s news.  The governor signed it into law.  That’s news again.  It went into effect today, so that’s news, too.

“For the majority of parents, who care so much about their kids, just the awareness-raising and then seeing other kids out there with their helmets on helped, but it took time.  As with any legislation, it takes about three years to get a good idea through.  It’s very hard to take a new idea on regulation to the legislature.”

“It was a very exciting time,” Liller said, “because, the first couple of times, I would go to the injury meetings, we’d work on the language of the law, and it just kept getting defeated.  The first year we did it, I think we just put it out there and said, ‘Let’s just see how it goes.’  The second year, we didn’t have the information about the penalty.  I still don’t like the penalty.  I don’t to this day.  But it was a really exciting process, and I’m so glad I was part of it.”

Still, Liller knows that no law is etched in stone.  The state threw a scare into helmet proponents and safety advocates in general when it partially repealed its motorcycle helmet law by limiting the requirement to riders under 21. “We were very afraid that they were going to repeal the bicycle helmet law, too, but so far, so good,” Liller said.  “They haven’t touched that law.  I think that’s because it’s for children.  I think if we would have had that helmet law for all ages, we would have been in trouble.”

“When I was at the state health office,” Mahan said, “the helmet law was a big plus, but at the same time, we lost the motorcycle helmet law, and that’s had tremendous consequences.”

The work continues

“We want it to become a norm,” Liller said of bicycle helmet use.  “We want it to be that, when these children have children, there won’t be any question when you get on a bike.  And we’re starting to see that.”

Mahan concurred.  He said he and his wife live two blocks from an elementary school, and the progress is easily visible.

“A lot of the kids are riding their bikes to school,” he said, “and every one of them has a helmet on.”

Work since the law’s passage has been geared toward bicycle helmet give-away programs.

“If you don’t have a helmet, we can find you one,” Liller said.  “We can find a program – Safe Kids, Tampa General, we can find somewhere to get you a helmet.”

Liller’s work on the law continues to influence safety initiatives.

“Our work has been in world publications about helmet use, about laws, about how it’s done,” she said.  “The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation wants to know about strategies, and it seems that the strategies that were developed in the ’90s – people are still really interested in those.  We were always pleased that our work is often cited as an example, even though many years have passed.”

Liller said she also is gratified to see the lasting validation of her and her colleagues’ methodology.

“It’s interesting that the work that we did is still being used.  If you run a program, you do some observational surveys.  You look at that helmet use on those kids.  You don’t just ask them.  You actually watch them.”

In the intervening years, Liller’s focus has shifted to high school sports injuries, but she remains committed to the legislation she helped to bring about, and she remains engaged with it, most recently as a content reviewer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Population Health Institute for strategies they want to propose for child safety seats – and yes, bicycle helmets. Her message for the naysayers remains the same.

“We’re not telling children they can’t ride bikes,” she said.  “We’re not telling children they can’t have fun or anything else we were accused of so often.  Basically, it’s just taking necessary precautions.  There’s been some literature that says we should let kids take more risks.  We don’t want to stop anyone from taking risks or having fun or getting exercise.  We just don’t want a child to die from a perfectly preventable head injury.  We’re smarter now.”

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.  Photos courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, Helmets On Heads, County Mayo and other sources.

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First published on June 4, 2015 in observance of the COPH’s 30^th anniversary celebration.

It was January 1998, and the Florida Board of Regents had just promoted one of USF’s fledgling entities to major status with sublimely understated efficiency.

Following authorizations for a BS in dance education, a degree of undetermined level in occupational therapy and an MS in physical therapy, it was the last of four single-sentence items in the typically dry language of officialdom, replete with redundancy and excessive capitalization, on a State University System memo to Dr. Thomas Tighe, then USF provost: “Established the Type I Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies as a Type I Center (sic).”

The rationale for the Center’s status elevation cited the state’s “tremendous progress in improving the health status of pregnant women and infants, largely through the leadership of Gov. and Mrs. Chiles and Charles Mahan,” who was then USF College of Public Health dean.  Marked improvement in the state’s infant mortality rate was among the leading factors, along with the Center’s performance the previous two years as a Type IV center.

Mahan had envisioned a research, program and policy institute for maternal and infant health as early as 1988, according to the Center’s official timeline.  The Center’s originally intended location was the University of Florida, Mahan said, but that was before the state had established its first college of public health at USF.  By the time the Center was created a few years later, USF, with the only COPH in the state, had become the obvious location, and Mahan had been named COPH dean.

Charles Mahan, MD, former USF College of Public Health dean

“Gov. and Mrs. Chiles had a lot of allegiance to the University of Florida, where they met and where he got his law degree,” Mahan said.  “I was state health officer on loan from the medical school at Florida, and I was supposed to go back there, and the Chiles Center was supposed to be there.”

But having served in the same administration, Mahan was friends with Betty Castor, who had been state secretary of education under Chiles and had since become president of USF.  Mahan said she called him and personally asked him to be the dean of COPH.  He accepted, and the first “steal” from the University of Florida only naturally led to the second.

USF was the better location for the Chiles Center, Castor told the governor, as it had the only college of public health and was headed by a dean who had served him as state health officer.  It also had a Healthy Beginnings program in place that arguably was already doing some of the work the Chiles Center would do.

Dr. Betty Castor, former USF president and Florida secretary of education.  To her left is her husband, former Florida state Rep. Samuel P. Bell III.

The Florida Healthy Start Program had been created by the legislature in 1991, under the urging of Chiles, and from its inception, had included a Healthy Beginnings Program at USF.  So when Mahan was appointed COPH dean in February 1995, he was at the right place at the right time to begin realization of his vision.  A year later, the Board of Regents established the Center, and Mahan served as its founding director in addition to his duties as COPH dean.

A $2-million federal grant followed in 1997 that was specifically aimed at reducing infant mortality in Hillsborough County.  In December of that year, a gala event at Busch Gardens honored the governor and his wife and formally launched the Center.  Additional state funding came in 1998 for construction of a building and a $600,000 annual operating budget.

Former Florida first lady Rhea Chiles (third from right) and her and the late governor’s daughter, also named Rhea (fourth from right), and son Ed (center) at the Chiles Center’s groundbreaking ceremony.

“President Castor invited Gov. and Mrs. Chiles down to USF, and we toured the campus and got them to put their names on the Chiles Center,” Mahan recalled.  “And then, Gov. Chiles was great about taking me to Washington and meeting all the senators who were his friends and raising money for the building.”

That journey for federal support brought home another $800,000 for the building.  The governor and first lady then spearheaded a series of fundraisers in Daytona Beach, Lakeland, Pensacola, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach.

“The Center was originally housed in office space near Tampa International Airport on Mariner Drive,” recalled Dr. Linda A. Detman, research associate for the Center.  “I believe that was from 1996 to 1998.  The Center’s first on-campus location was in FMHI, what is now labeled on maps as the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences building.  We also had a pair of temporary trailers for added office space between FMHI and the Westside Conference Center.”

Gov. Lawton Chiles (right) and daughter Rhea with Dr. Harold Varmus, then director of the National Institutes of Health, at the dedication of Lawton Chiles House (not related to the Chiles Center).

The Center’s impressive home since 2001 puts plenty of inspiration on display for visitors and staff alike:  A photo gallery of Gov. and Mrs. Chiles, including framed moments with presidents Clinton, Carter and Bush the first; a replica of the governor’s Tallahassee conference room for his use whenever he visited; even a bronzed pair of “Walkin’ Lawton’s” famous shoes.

After all, inspiration is what it’s all about.  Over the years, the Chiles Center’s health care initiatives have racked up impressive victories, to say the least.

“At the Chiles Center, Florida Covering Kids and Families and its collaborators across the state exceeded the federal goal for Florida in enrolling people for health care coverage in the federal health insurance marketplaces,” said Dr. William M. Sappenfield, Chiles Center director and Department of Community and Family Health chair and professor.  “During the first open enrollment, about 500,000 more individuals enrolled over the initial target and reached more than 1.6 million after the second enrollment period.  Moreover, because of the success of projects like this, Florida now enrolls more people through this important health insurance program than any other state.”

William M. Sappenfield, MD, MPH, director of the Chiles Center

Sappenfield also points to one of the Center’s most recent projects, the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, which has radically reduced elective early deliveries (before 39 weeks of gestation).

“Babies electively delivered before 39 weeks are at higher risk of poor outcomes, including respiratory troubles and difficulties feeding, and are at higher risk of learning, behavioral and school-related problems in childhood,” explained Detman, who oversees the project.

“It continues to make a measurable difference in the quality of health care that mothers and babies are receiving,” Sappenfield said, “through improving newborn health care at birth and reducing death and morbidity to obstetric hemorrhage.”

Another recent Chiles Center project is the Obstetric Hemorrhage Initiative begun in October 2013 with 31 Florida and four North Carolina hospitals.  The participating Florida hospitals represent more than one-forth of the state’s delivery hospitals and nearly two-thirds of all births statewide, Detman said, adding that maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage are the leading cause of maternal mortality in the state.

Linda Detman, PhD, program manager for the Chiles Center’s Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative

“We are fortunate to have the enthusiasm and dedication of perinatal professionals across the state who want to be engaged in improving outcomes for mothers and infants, and we plan to grow in the number of hospitals actively engaged in one or more of our projects,” she said.

Though funding issues put an end to the Center’s branch office in Tallahassee years ago, the original main office – now an imposing office building – on the USF Tampa campus continues to thrive and achieve.

“As was initially dreamed, the Chiles Center continues to improve the health and health care of women, children and families in Florida,” Sappenfield said.  “We will continue to build upon and expand these successful collaborations to succeed in our mission of improving their health and health care.”

Gov. Chiles visits COPH and its dean, Dr. Charles Mahan, in 1995.

“We worked with Gov. and Mrs. Chiles for many years to devise and implement programs and ideas to improve the pregnancy outcomes for women and babies,” Mahan said.  “The LRCC is designed to carry out these efforts and continue to design and improve new ones for future generations.”

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.

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National Women’s Health Week is May 12-18

As National Women’s Health Week begins, the USF Women’s Health Collective will present former USF President Betty Castor with the 2019 Remark-a-Bull Award. The award, which will be presented at the sixth annual Leading the Way Awards Luncheon at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC on May 15, recognizes Castor for her work advancing women’s health issues in Tampa Bay.

Castor has been a steady advocate for women’s health even before she became a familiar face at the USF College of Public Health (COPH).

During her time in the Florida State Senate, Castor continuously passed laws and fought for programs that would create a more equitable atmosphere for women. “I recognized the importance of physical education and health for young women and girls and the inequities that often prevent them from advancing [in society],” said Castor.

This work continued as Castor moved into the position of Florida Commissioner of Education, where much of her focus centered on the affordability of health care for children across the state. 

In this role, she helped develop Healthy Kids—a program that provides children age 5-18 with insurance if their families cannot afford health coverage.

“That effort grew from a pilot into a statewide program,” said Castor. “The results were so impressive that the Clinton administration adopted children’s health as a priority, and today [the program] has become part of the [federally-authorized] Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), in which hundreds of thousands of children are enrolled.”

When Castor became the first female president of USF in 1994, she made sure to keep women and the health barriers they often encounter at the forefront of the university’s agenda.

She made USF a mecca for maternal and child health in Florida by founding the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies in the COPH. She also founded the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.

While pioneering women’s health issues has clearly taken Castor to many places and positions throughout her career, she feels most at home here in Tampa, as a part of the USF community.

“On a personal level, I am a long-time patient of many of our medical school clinical faculty, and I’m grateful for the care I’ve received there,” said Castor. “I’m proud of the USF colleges and graduates who continue to make our communities healthier and prosperous.”

As for the award, Castor appreciates the recognition and sees the important role that USF and the COPH play in creating a healthy community.

“I am very pleased to be recognized for my efforts, especially considering those who have been recognized in the past,” said Castor. “There is a vital intersection between education and health, and I’ve been fortunate to have been involved in both.”

Story by Cody Brown, USF College of Public Health

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May is a month of endings and beginnings on college campuses.

This May, in addition to graduating 242 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, the USF COPH said goodbye to two longtime, distinguished professors: Drs. Martha Coulter and Kathleen O’Rourke.

Drs. Martha Coulter (left) and Kathleen O’Rourke at their retirement send-off. (Photo by Anna Mayor)

Coulter, a professor of community and family health, has dedicated her career to improving the lives of families and children.

The Louisiana native received her BA in sociology from Louisiana State, MSW from Tulane University, MPH from the University of California at Berkeley and DrPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She came to the COPH in 1986, when the college was just two years old, and was named director of the Harrell Center in 1997. She’s also held visiting professorships at the University of California at San Diego and the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway.

“Marti [Martha] is a fierce advocate for women and families and victims of domestic violence,” said Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the COPH. “She is a partner with the legal agencies, courts and services that exist to support families in this community. She gives of herself unceasingly and without seeking any recognition whatsoever. She is one of the humblest people I know and has been an incredible force in this college since its infancy. She is a scholar, advocate and champion.”

Coulter—who has served the COPH for nearly a third of a century as a teacher, researcher and mentor—says the highlight of her time at the college was doing research and teaching that “really focused on practice. The Harrell Center, in particular, was an intermediary between research and practice. I am so grateful for it and its ability to let me do more of the research I wanted to do.”

In addition to advocacy, the Harrell Center conducts and translates research on families and violence, shaping it into usable information for practitioners, policy makers, government agencies and community leaders.

Unlike a lot of new retirees, Coulter doesn’t have any grandiose plans for the future. “I decided I don’t want to make any big plans until the end of the summer,” she said. “I want to give myself time to relax and visit family and then to sit and really think about my next step.”
Regardless of what that next step is, Coulter, who is now a professor emeritus, knows she’s not completely done with USF yet.

“I love interacting with the wonderful students, faculty and community. Hopefully I’ll still be able to do some of that.”

Drs. Coulter and O’Rourke delight in opening gifts and reading cards from COPH staff at their joint retirement party. (Photo by Anna Mayor)

Retiring on the same day as Coulter was Kathleen O’Rourke, chair for the last five years of epidemiology and biostatistics in the COPH.

O’Rourke, who grew up outside of Boston, received her BA, MPH and PhD from the University of Massachusetts.

One of the hallmarks of O’Rourke’s distinguished career has been selfless service. She has been a registered nurse, an intern with the CDC, a Fulbright scholar in Guatemala and a public health consultant before landing in academia. She has taught at the University of Texas and the Medical University of South Carolina before settling at USF in 2004.

O’Rourke’s work at USF has had a decidedly maternal and child health focus.

She joined USF as an associate professor and research director of the Chiles Center. In her time at the COPH she’s studied—among other things—the reproductive outcomes of those with post-traumatic stress disorder, immigrant reproductive health issues and cost-effective ways to monitor environmental chemicals in breast milk.

An animal lover (she has two standard poodles that she keeps around for “comic relief,” she says), O’Rourke has also had leadership roles in some innovative programs, including a partnership between the COPH and Lowry Park Zoo that enables veterinarians to learn public health assessments and apply them to the animal population.

“Kathleen has been a tremendous contributor to public health through her scholarship, her passion for teaching and leadership and through the care that she brings to everything she does,” said Petersen. “She led, almost single-handedly, the development of our online MPH program in epidemiology, still the only one in the country. And she embraced the bachelor’s program, creating some of the most powerful courses for our undergraduates.”

O’Rourke’s immediate plans for retirement include spending more time with her family, which includes her long-time partner, Dan, as well as her four grown children and two (soon to be three) grandchildren.

She also looks forward to gardening, quilting and unpacking. O’Rourke recently moved from the Tampa area to Titusville, on Florida’s Space Coast. “I’m from Massachusetts. I believe oceans should have waves, so I wanted to be closer to where the waves are,” she laughed. “And Tampa is a busy place. I am more of a small-town person.”

What’s next for O’Rourke after the plants have been potted, the packing paper has been tossed and the grandchildren have been sufficiently spoiled is anyone’s guess.

“I plan on volunteering and using some of my public health skills,” she said. “I know I will surely miss the students and, really, everyone at the college. Donna has been a phenomenal dean and the COPH is an amazing place. But I think the first thing I should do is figure out how to retire before I start adding all these activities. I might like retirement so much, I won’t do anything,” she joked.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Dozens of colleagues and leaders gathered July 20 to celebrate the outstanding 27-year career of Phillip J. Marty, PhD, a consummate professional dedicated to the advancement of USF and USF Health.

Marty, professor of public health, internal medicine and psychiatry, held several administrative positions in the USF College of Public Health, Morsani College of Medicine and USF Health throughout his tenure at the University of South Florida, including 14 years as associate vice president for USF Health Research. Before retiring on Aug. 6, he led the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology as interim chair for five years.

Dr. Phillip J. Marty, professor emeritus of the USF College of Public Health (Photo by Eric Younghans).

Edmund Funai, MD, chief operating officer at USF Health and senior vice president of strategic development for USF, congratulated Marty on a well-deserved retirement.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude for all you have done over the past two plus decades to carry forward our missions of teaching, research, patient care and service,” Funai said. “You treated our university like home, and treat your colleagues and students as if they are family.”

Dr. Phillip Marty with some of the staff who assisted him at USF Health over the years — from left, Cheryl Lesko, Jo Ann Moore, Linda Lalli, Charmaine Disimile and Carolyn Mercurio Dove (Photo by Eric Younghans).

Marty arrived at the COPH in 1990 from the University of Arkansas College of Education, where he worked in the health sciences program at the Little Rock campus.  During his time in Arkansas, Marty’s collaborative research work on the use of smokeless tobacco was cited by the U.S. Congress and contributed to the passage of the Congressional Smokeless Tobacco Act of 1986.

The COPH was young and still expanding and he believed he could make a contribution with teaching, research and service.

“The COPH was so dynamic and eclectic with its varied faculty and backgrounds, as well as university,” he said. “I saw so much potential for my further personal and professional growth.”

Among his many accomplishments at USF:

• Often stepped up to fill vital interim roles during searches for a new dean or chair. Marty served as interim dean of the COPH before Dr. Charles Mahan arrived as dean in 1995, helping to advance the early distance learning program, the executive MPH program, and development of the public health practice program for working professionals. He was also interim director of the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, and interim chair of several COPH departments: Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Policy and Management, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Most recently, he served as interim chair for Pathology and Cell Biology in MCOM.
• Successfully championed, transitioned and expanded Research Day from the corridors of USF Health to the Marshall Student Center –– drawing record numbers of promising research presentations not only from USF Health, but also from across USF.
• Instrumental in helping rebuild USF Health’s research infrastructure.
• Helped secure state funding for cardiovascular and personalized medicine.
• His advocacy work in the Florida Legislature resulted in laws passed to protect young people and adults from starting smoking, reduce smoking rates and warn people of the dangers of smoking. In 1993, the COPH recognized his advancement of better tobacco control policies with the college’s Exceptional Community Service Award.

“I just hope that I have been able to further the teaching, research and service missions of these units and have made a bit of a difference at USF,” he said.

Marty’s favorite memory of the COPH was during his time in the COPH Dean’s Office as the interim dean and then executive associate dean when Mahan became dean.

“The next seven years working with Dean Mahan was intense, but also a great deal of fun,” he said. “The dean’s office was a great place to work at that time because many of the rapid advances of the COPH occurred under the leadership of Dr. Mahan.”

Dr. Charles Mahan and Dr. Phillip Marty serving at a COPH ice cream social (Photo courtesy of Marty).

Over the years he’s been at USF, the COPH has grown tremendously. Marty said that he is most surprised by the expansion of academic opportunities at all levels that are now available in the COPH from undergraduate to professional degree programs.

“Now undergraduate programs provide somewhat of a backbone for financial health of the COPH as well as feeders for its graduate programs,” he said. “Dean Petersen and her staff have provided excellent leadership in moving the COPH into one of the top tier public health schools in the country, something of which we should be immensely proud.”

Dr. Phillip Marty completing public health field work in Africa (Photo courtesy of Marty).

In retirement Marty, a professor emeritus at the COPH, hopes to return to some international public health work, especially in Zambia, Africa, where his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren live.  He will also have more travel with his wife Marianne, volunteer, fish and “putter on small projects” at their Tampa home and cabin in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains.

Dr. Phillip Marty with his family (Photo by Eric Younghans).

Asked if he had any advice to leave current students, Marty encouraged them to consider unexpected opportunities to shift directions in their careers, even if it involves some risk.

“In my own case, I had no expectation of being a professor earlier in my youth.  I never expected to be selected for the various administrative roles I have had over the years.  However, I kept an open mind and saw these opportunities as challenges and areas for professional and personal growth,” Marty said.

“As a result, I have had tremendous experiences and worked with and met wonderful people throughout my career… I couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding 38 years in higher education, and 27 of these at the COPH, USF Health and USF,” he said.

Story by Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Communications and Marketing, and Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health. Reposted from USF Health News

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The USF College of Public Health’s Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies strives to integrate and apply the best in evidence-based research, education, practice, and service to promote optimal health and well-being across the life-course.

Faculty, staff and students disseminated their findings through the Chiles Center Symposium held in April, featuring presentations, research posters, and a keynote guest lecture.

This year’s annual symposium was led by the Chiles Center’s director Dr. William Sappenfield and was attended by the COPH dean Dr. Donna Petersen and the former founding Chiles Center director Dr. Charlie Mahan.

This year’s faculty and student presentations highlighted the research done by Florida Covering Kids & Families (FL-CKF).

Project director Jodi Ray led the discussion and presentations included overviews from FL-CKF staff Xongenese Jacobs, Katie Roders-Turner, Sarah Brumley, and Ashley Richards.

They discussed the Florida network of navigators assisting Florida’s children, families, and military families with becoming insured and understanding insurance programs.

FL-CKF staff answer questions from the audience regarding their work (from left): Xongenese Jacobs, Sarah Brumley, Ashley Richards, and Katie Roders-Turner. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

Other presentations included:

• Cheryl Vamos, assistant professor in CFH: research on current and future efforts for integrating oral health care during the prenatal period
• Chinyere Reid, CFH doctoral student: survey research on the perinatal quality improvement capacity in Florida’s Hospitals
• Grace Liggett, CFH MPH student, and Stacey Griner, CFH doctoral student: qualitative research on behalf of Dr. Erika Thompson on perspectives of preventing sexual transmission of the Zika virus in Florida
• Alexis Barr-Wood, CFH doctoral student: secondary investigation of the influence of grandmothers on breastfeeding

Grace Liggett and Stacey Griner presenting on Zika research. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

The annual Charles S. Mahan, M.D. Award for Best Student MCH Paper was presented to Sabrina Luke.

This award recognizes the best paper authored by a College of Public Health student on maternal and child health by providing a $500 award.

Sabrina Luke earned the Charles S. Mahan, M.D. Award for Best Student MCH Paper. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

Following presentations and awards, all attending guests and speakers were invited to view research posters, network with potential colleagues, and meet the authors.

Guests enjoyed a complimentary luncheon. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

The symposium also featured a session where attendees could speak to faculty, staff and students of the Chiles Center regarding their latest work to promote the health and well-being of the community. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

Dr. Arthur R. James, an OB/GYN, pediatrician, and a professor at The Ohio State University delivered the keynote address, “Equity…A Dream Deferred,” discussing infant mortality rates among African-American and Caucasian babies.

African-American babies’ survival rates lag behind Caucasian babies, and racism may be a contributing factor, according to James.

He spoke on social determinants and its effects on the health and delivery of African-American babies, and how to improve infant mortality rates among African-American babies.

James continues to work towards closing the gap of infant mortality rates between African-American and Caucasian babies set by Healthy People 2020.

Dr. Arthur R. James of The Ohio State University College of Medicine delivered the keynote address at the 2017 Annual Chiles Lecture and Symposium. (Photo courtesy of Erika Thompson)

Story by Theresa Nguyen, USF College of Public Health

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Samuel Lee Washington, Sr., the father of Estrellita “Lo” Berry and Marilyn Merida—long time USF College of Public Health members and community partners—passed away Tuesday, Sept., 27. “Sam” was born in Koenton, Ala. and has lived in Tampa, Fla. for more than 60 years. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Bertha, his son Samuel L. Washington, Jr., his two daughters, his three grandchildren, and his four great-grandchildren. 

Samuel Washington, Sr.

Early on, Mr. Washington started his own construction business, S & S Construction, which remained open until 2000.  He retired after 40 years in business.  Sam was a mentor and employer for young African-American men who were interested in the construction industry.  He was very influential to a lot of them who went on to open their own construction company.  “Poppy” was a family man who loved his wife, children, grandchildren and relatives with all of his heart.  He was adored and loved by many for his generosity, kindness and support.  His funeral was held, Saturday October 1 at New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, Fla. 

Click here for additional information and to sign the online guest book at Wilson Funeral Home.

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The Florida Covering Kids & Families (FL-CKF) Program at the USF College of Public Health’s, received a two-year, $1 million grant.

The award, from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was presented on June 13, 2016 as part of the Connecting Kids to Coverage campaign.

Florida Covering Kids & Family staff members at an outreach event at Lowry Park Zoo. (Photo courtesy of FL-CKF)

The Connecting Kids to Coverage project aims to maximize existing opportunities and structures currently in place with the statewide Florida Covering Kids and Families Coalition and its network of regional collaborative partnerships to increase enrollment and retention in the Florida KidCare program, which includes Title XIX Medicaid and Title XX in the State of Florida.

In total, $32 million has been dispersed to 38 community organizations in 27 states, funded by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) legislation.

“I’m thankful we got this grant because it allows us to make sure we’re not only getting people into health coverage, but we have folks who are focused on children’s issues who are working side by side with the Navigator team around the state, so we’re able to get families covered,” said Jodi Ray, program director.

These awards represent the fourth cycle of outreach and enrollment grants that USF was a recipient of and are designed to build on the historic progress already made increasing the number of children who have health coverage.

Ray, who has been with the FL-CKF program since its inception at the USF COPH’s Lawton Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, said a new focus for this particular grant year will be an increased focus on working with free and charitable clinics to provide assistance and training on enrolling eligible uninsured children into health care coverage.

Program Director Jodi Ray speaks with members of the community during a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. (Photo courtesy of FL-CKF).

“Getting those kids and those families connected to someone who can help them apply and enroll is going to be key,” Ray said. “Our goal is to be able to get the information out to the families where they are; where they eat, where they sleep, where they live. So, having that partnership with these organizations lends itself to a certain amount of credibility, increases our reach and increases the trust that we have in working with families around sensitive issues.”

FL-CKF will increase the number of Florida KidCare application assistance center networks throughout the state where families may apply and receive reliable assistance.

“Not having health coverage is a real impediment to most of the things we advocate for in public health,” Ray said. “I’ve talked to families who haven’t been able to get through the process, people who are living in their cars, and people who have children with serious health issues and couldn’t figure out how to get their child in for services. Some have told me they had to skip Christmas because all their money was going to be spent for the prescriptions needed for their child’s asthma.”

FL-CKF has established a statewide coalition to engage with members of the community, including those at health departments, hospitals, school districts, faith-based organizations and veteran’s agencies. (Photo courtesy of FL-CKF)

FL-CKF and their partners will engage schools, children’s hospitals, urgent care centers, and community organizations in outreach, enrollment, and retention activities to bridge health care coverage disparities through reaching out to specific subgroups of children that exhibit lower than average health coverage rates.

Local outreach projects under this grant will cover: Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Broward, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Duval, Baker, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, Putnam, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties.

Related media:
Press release
List of grantees

Story by Lindsay Kuznia, Florida Covering Kids and Families, and Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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The Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC), based in the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies at the USF College of Public Health, presented its fifth annual conference on April 7-8, in Tampa, Fla., attracting more than 230 attendees from all over the state from a variety of disciplines.

This two-day educational program is an opportunity for perinatal health professionals and stakeholders to share information on the planning and implementation of quality improvement initiatives and learn about evidence-based practices at the institutional, community, state and national levels.

Panel moderator: Dr. Maya Balakrishnan, Panelists: Nancy Travis, Adolfo Gonzalez-Garcia, Mitchell Stern, Jayne Solomon. (Photo courtesy of Emily Bronson)

FPQC Director Dr. William Sappenfield, opened the annual meeting with a State of the Collaborative address, bringing stakeholders and attendees up-to-date on statewide collaborative efforts to improve healthcare quality for mothers and infants.

Sappenfield also honored Dr. John Curran, FPQC founding director, announcing the John Curran Award. Starting next year, this brand new recognition will be awarded to the hospital that makes the most improvement with an FPQC quality improvement initiative.

Dr. Maya Balakrishnan, neonatologist and assistant professor at the USF Morsani College of Medicine, led a discussion with a panel of maternal and neonatal healthcare physicians and nurses on how to promote a hospital quality improvement culture.

Panelists shared how they’ve engaged their department, tips for achieving the quality improvement, and ways they’ve celebrated successes at their hospital. Audience members had the opportunity to share their challenges and request ideas for use in their own facility.

Dr. David Lagrew Jr., member of the executive committee of the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC), discussed national and regional efforts to reduce primary cesarean sections.

Lagrew promoted the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) patient safety bundle on Safe Reduction of Primary Cesarean Births and announced the coming of a CMQCC toolkit on promoting vaginal birth.

Panel Moderator: Judette Louis, Panelists: Mark Bloom, Martha DeCastro, Jeffrey Angel, Karen Harris. (Photo courtesy of Emily Bronson)

Presenting clinical pearls related to hypertension in pregnancy, Julie Vasher, clinical implementation lead for the CMQCC and the California Partnership for Maternal Safety, offered a valuable nursing prospective.
Director of the Preeclampsia Foundation, a national patient advocacy organization, Eleni Tsigas, led an important, moving discussion with a parent to share the patient perspective of maternal and neonatal health care in perinatal crises.

A panel session on the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) new Maternal Levels of Care prompted a great deal of discussion among participants.

The panelists and audience explored ways in which these designations could be useful, reasons why hospitals may or may not want to self-designate, asked questions about what the levels mean, and explored what impact the levels of care may have on the system.

Dr. Munish Gupta. (Photo courtesy of Emily Bronson)

New at this year’s conference was a session focused entirely on using quality improvement data measurement, namely run charts and control charts, in hospital quality improvement efforts.

Dr. Munish Gupta, chair of the Neonatal Quality Improvement Collaborative of Massachusetts (NeoQIC), used examples from his collaborative’s human milk project and kept this session entertaining for attendees despite its complexity.

Attendees participated in a number of break-out sessions that provided the opportunity for sharing experiences, discussion and exploration of new areas of perinatal quality improvement:

• Dr. Maureen Groer presented on Milk and the Gut Microbiome with an emphasis on very low birth weight infants;
• Dr. Julie DeCesare, Lisa Gardner, and Dr. Donald Wilson presented on their current efforts to address high primary cesarean rates in Florida;
• Dr. Karen Bruder presented on the Antenatal Corticosteroid Treatment project;
• The FPQC team presented on the new Perinatal Quality Indicators system;
• Dr. Ivonne Hernandez presented on the new FPQC infant health project focusing on mother’s own milk in the NICU;
• Dr. Judette Louis led an interactive session on the Hypertension in Pregnancy Initiative;
• Annette Phelps moderated a panel of Obstetric Hemorrhage Initiative hospitals.

Both sessions provided an opportunity for participating and non-participating hospitals to collaborate on maternal health projects.

Attendees had the opportunity to network following sessions. (Photo courtesy of Emily Bronson)

Participants reported that they learned a lot from the techniques and successes of others, and that “knowledge, energy and enthusiasm are contagious.”

Several opportunities for networking were provided, which participants appreciated and found valuable.

The symposium also allowed attendees to listen to some of the latest research during the poster session. (Photo courtesy of Emily Bronson)

This year’s poster session, in which hospitals and organizations shared their obstetric and neonatal quality improvement initiatives and research, included awards for best poster.

The Grand Prize winner was “Assessing Preventability of Maternal Deaths in Florida in 2013” from authors Leticia Hernandez, Rhonda Brown, and Ashlee Morgan from the Florida Department of Health.

Honorable Mentions included:

• “Retrospective Analysis of NTSV Cesarean Delivery Rate with a Feedback and Monitoring Program at Sacred Heart Health System” by Reesa Child, Julie DeCesare, Ashley Morton, Lisa Gardner, and Laura Ambler;
• “Hospital Differences in Unexpected Complications Among Term Newborns” by Yuri Sebastiao, Lindsay Womack, Humberto Lopez-Castillo, Maya Balakrishnan, Karen Bruder, Paige Alitz, and FPQC staff;
• and “Enhancing Outcomes with Donor Milk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit” by Jessa Canals-Alonso, Marcia Shultz, and Karen Howell.

Several participants expressed that this conference is one they look forward to every year, and that this was the best FPQC annual meeting yet. Those new to the conference found the meeting very informative and pertinent to many hospitals settings.

Story by Emily Bronson, Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative

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The Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC), based in the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies at the USF College of Public Health, received the Florida Blue Foundation’s 2016 Sapphire Award for Outstanding Organization.

The FPQC was selected as winner of this prestigious award out of 112 nominations and 13 finalists from around the state.

The awards, totaling $350,000, honor outstanding individuals, programs and nonprofit organizations in community health care, or health care-related fields, whose work is distinguished by leadership, innovation and achievements in community health.

The FPQC was honored for its work for more than five years to improve Florida’s maternal and infant health outcomes through the delivery of high quality, evidence-based perinatal care. FPQC initiatives have made a significant different in the lives of mothers and babies across the state.

The FPQC was presented with the top award in the organization category, along with a donation of $50,000, on April 21 in Orlando, Fla.

Seated from left are: Maya Balakrishnan, USF COM, FPQC QI Director; Linda Detman, FPQC Program Manager; William Sappenfield, FPQC Director; Emily Bronson, FPQC QI Specialist; and Charlie Mahan, Chiles Center. Back row from left are: Doug Hardy, FPQC Neonatal Consultant; Karen Harris, ACOG District XII Chair and FPQC Obstetrical Consultant; Annette Phelps, FPQC Nursing Consultant; Lori Reeves, March of Dimes Regional Program Services Director; Karen Bruder, USF COM, FPQC Obstetrical Consultant; Judette Louis, USF COM, FPQC Obstetrical Consultant; Kris Albers, Florida DOH; and Yuri Sebastiao, FPQC Graduate Assistant.

“The Sapphire Award demonstrates credibility of the reach the FPQC has in the eyes of others,” said Dr. William Sappenfield, who co-directs FPQC and directs the Chiles Center. “The award money will go to support current quality initiatives the will help us have an even greater impact on the lives of mothers and infants.”

A video highlighting the work of the FPQC was shown at the awards presentation.

The FPQC thanks its wonderful collaborative partners, including: the March of Dimes; the Florida Department of Health; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District XII; the Association for Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses; the Florida Hospital Association; the Florida Chapter of the American College of Nurse Midwives; Florida sections of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Society of Neonatologists; the Florida Hospital Association; the Agency for Healthcare Administration; Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions; and all of the wonderful volunteers, partners, academic centers, hospitals and care providers who have been involved in the collaborative. This is a win for all of us!

The full list of 2016 Sapphire Award honorees is available here.

Florida Blue Foundation is a trade name of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, Inc. Florida Blue Foundation is committed to its mission – help the people and communities of Florida achieve better health – through strategic grant making to nonprofits that provide services to all 67 Florida counties. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.floridabluefoundation.com.

For more information on the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, visit FPQC.org.

Story by Emily Bronson, Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative. 

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