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.

The post Chiles Center promotes health for all women and babies appeared first on College of Public Health News.

The USF College of Public Health is saying farewell to one of its esteemed faculty members, Dr. William Sappenfield, a USF Distinguished Professor and director of the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC) and the Chiles Center, both housed within the college and dedicated to cutting-edge research and education promoting the health and well-being of women, children and families.

Sappenfield, a pediatrician and epidemiologist who focuses on maternal and child health, retires after serving the college for 12 years. “That’s the longest I’ve been anywhere in my career,” he noted.

Sappenfield says what he’ll miss most about his time at the COPH is the people—the students, faculty, staff and leaders. “I have had the chance to work with outstanding people,” he noted.

And they will undoubtedly miss him as well.

“It was both an honor and a privilege to work with Bill,” said Bobbi Rose, an alum of the college who also served as conference coordinator for USF Health. “He is, WITHOUT FAIL, supportive, super smart, available, ethical and caring—for his colleagues, staff, students and the community at large. We need more Bill Sappenfields in this world!”

Amy Phillips, doctoral student and alum of the college, echoes those sentiments.

“As a new master’s student in 2013, I remember meeting one-on-one with Dr. Sappenfield and he insisted I call him Bill—never Dr. Sappenfield (to this day, I still don’t know that I ever have, lol),” Phillips, currently a COPH doctoral student, recalled. “He also shared his journey to leadership with my Maternal and Child Health Leadership Scholar cohort. I am grateful for the opportunity to know and learn from him!”

Natalie Preston, director of the college’s Office of Engagement and Constituent Relations, also values the knowledge she gleaned from Sappenfield.

“I appreciate that Bill always made me feel like we were equals,” Preston said. “He was very approachable and personal. My son was quite sickly as a toddler and elementary school kid. I reached out to Bill on many occasions for his medical insight as a pediatrician. He always received me warmly and explained options in a manner that was easily understood by a non-medical professional. His demeanor is as warm and bright as his smile! Without question, I will miss him. Hopefully his best life is coming in retirement!”

Sappenfield said some of the highlights of his time at the college have been becoming a faculty member, impacting lives and careers via teaching and mentoring, leading, promoting and revitalizing the Chiles Center and fully developing the FPQC, a group that significantly impacts the health and health care of mothers and infants in Florida.

What’s next for Sappenfield as he heads off into retirement?

“Deciding what I want to do when I grow up,” he said. “That’s going to take me some time to figure out! The college has paid me to do what I so much enjoy doing.”

Here, a pictorial look back at Sappenfield’s 12 years with the college:

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Dr. Russell Kirby, a USF Distinguished Professor and perinatal epidemiology expert at the USF College of Public Health, has been honored with a mentoring award that bears his name.

Kirby became the first-ever recipient of the Russell S. Kirby Mentoring Award, presented by the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN).

“The award,” says the NBDPN, an international group of individuals dedicated to birth defects surveillance, research and prevention, “is given to an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to mentoring, advising and building supportive environments for colleagues in the field of birth defects surveillance, research and prevention.”

The NBDPN said it presented the award in Kirby’s honor for his years of supporting the growth of birth defects programs, as well as for mentoring students, staff and other professionals.

“I was very honored to receive the award, which I did not expect,” Kirby said. “I knew that the new award was being created and would be named in my honor, but I did not anticipate I would be its first recipient.”

Kirby estimated he’s mentored “hundreds” of students and professionals on birth defects—their prevalence and prevention—over the years.

“While at USF, in addition to approximately 20 maternal and child health concentration students each year, I have sat on 36 dissertation and thesis committees, serving as major/co-major professor for 21 students,” Kirby noted. “I have also mentored numerous faculty members at USF and other universities around the country, and I have worked with program staff at birth defects surveillance programs in many states. I helped establish programs in Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota and Oregon, and I worked closely on projects with colleagues in Colorado, Texas, Michigan and New York. This has been in addition to my leadership for the Birth Defects Surveillance Program at USF.”

Kirby said he feels an obligation to his peers and his profession to act as a mentor to those interested in the study of birth defects.

“Mentoring is what it’s all about,” he said. “Just as others supported me in my education and early career, I feel I owe it to pay it back. Mentoring is very rewarding and generates lifelong connections and friendships that transcend our daily work.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Samuel “Sam” P. Bell, III, father of the USF College of Public Health (COPH) and overall champion of USF, died March 14 at the age of 83.

Bell, the husband of former USF president Betty Castor, served in the Florida Legislature for 14 years. He dedicated himself to improving health policies throughout the state, particularly those policies that affected children.

When USF recognized his contributions to the university and the community several years ago with the prestigious Class of ’56 Award, he commented that by honoring him, he hoped the university was really honoring the COPH.

“It’s my main claim to fame,” he told a reporter at the time. “I had no particular connection to the college when we embarked on bringing a school of public health to Florida,” he added. “But the decision to bring it to USF turned out to be a great choice in every way. At USF, the COPH is seen as an equal partner in the health system.”

Bell’s contributions to public health are long and illustrious.

He helped bring about Florida Healthy Kids, a government-subsidized insurance plan that became the model for the national Children’s Health Insurance Program. His efforts also led to the state’s regulation of tap water temperatures to prevent scalding injuries, the subsidization of adoptions of special needs children and the establishment of a network of neonatal intensive care units.

“Sam’s contributions to children and public health truly helped shape our state,” said Laura Kolkman, a USF COPH Advisory Council member, a council that Bell once chaired. “I’m honored to have known him and call him a friend.” “His work will live on through USF and the many children’s causes he championed,” added Dana Nafe, another advisory council member.

Bell worked tirelessly on behalf of the university and college.

According to Kara Steiner, senior director of development USF Health, Bell established three funds in the college, one for graduate students to study public health disparities in Africa, one for the general needs of the college when he was chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council, and most recently, a scholarship for students studying public health policy. He also supported the Salud Latina program, jump-started numerous other scholarships in honor of retired faculty members for programs like health management, tropical medicine and maternal and fetal health and initiated the Global Health Symposium, which took place in 2019.

“Sam was the first one to contribute to get things moving,” said Steiner, who worked with Bell on many initiatives and scholarships. “In our last meeting, his goal was to get the directorship of the Chiles Center endowed to ensure that the health of women and babies remains a priority for our college and the state of Florida in perpetuity. No one loved the USF College of Public Health more than Sam Bell and his impression on the college, its faculty, research, students and programs will be felt for decades to come.”

According to COPH Dean Donna Petersen, it’s Bell’s commitment to service that will be his lasting legacy.

“I don’t know what drove him to be so dedicated to service and improving the human condition. But he was and he did, in everything he touched,” Petersen said. “He was strong and persuasive, but always gracious and kind. He was someone who just seemed to deeply understand people at both the individual and collective level. He understood that people need to be cherished and that communities need to be supported. Whether it was his role as a lawmaker, philanthropist, advocate or volunteer, he was inspired by the things that would make a difference in people’s lives. And in so doing, he inspired us to want to keep doing everything we can to make a difference, too.”

Visitation will be held on March 30, 2023. A memorial service will be Friday, March 31, 2023. For more information on the funeral arrangements and to read more about Bell’s life and service, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Haley Maxwell’s interest in public health began when she served as a scribe for a urogynecologist who had a public health degree in addition to a medical one.

“I loved the way she practiced medicine because she treated each person individually, according to their conditions,” said Maxwell, who graduated USF’s College of Public Health (COPH) in 2021 with an MPH. “Whenever patients with complex medical issues came into the office, she kept a positive attitude and was committed to providing the best care that she could. During my time as a scribe, I decided to investigate MPH programs. On my first day of classes at the COPH, I knew this program was exactly what I needed. Public health is committed to understanding the reason behind health issues and how to prevent them from happening in the future.”

While it was a doctor who inspired Maxwell to pursue her MPH, it was a documentary about medical procedures performed on enslaved African women that got her interested in her concentration—maternal and child health.

“The practices that were performed still have underlying medical consequences for African American women today, especially in regard to the maternal mortality rate,” said Maxwell, who graduated Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018 with a B.S. in health sciences and a minor in chemistry. “I was completely shocked by this information. I felt the need to make a difference.”

Maxwell said she decided on the COPH because of its solid reputation and its maternal and child health concentration. She said that from the get-go she was inspired by the COPH faculty, particularly Assistant Professor Dr. Ronee Wilson.

“I remember meeting her during orientation and learning that her research correlated with my interest in African American maternal mortality,” Maxwell commented. “Also, I was fortunate enough to have her as my mentor during the Maternal and Child Health Scholar Program from 2020-2021. It was so inspiring to have my check-ins with her because she remained professional, positive and attentive toward our work together.”

While a student at the college, Maxwell served as a graduate research assistant, a maternal and child health scholar and president of the Public Health Student Association. In 2021, USF Health named Maxwell Student Leader of the Year. “I can confidently say that I am so glad I chose USF because it challenged and prepared me for the profession,” she said.

Like many public health students graduating in the midst of the pandemic, Maxwell’s first public health job was investigating COVID-19 cases, recording symptoms, exposures, close contacts, etc.

From there, she pursued her maternal child health passion, recently completing a prestigious Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship with the federal government’s Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, working on fatherhood initiatives.

“The ORISE fellowship gave me a wider perspective about MIECHV programs around the United States,” she said. “I was able to review awardee reports and developed a fatherhood analysis about the MIECHV programs with fatherhood initiatives.”

Maxwell is currently seeking an MS in medical sciences at Morehouse School of Medicine with plans to enter medical school in 2024.

“The COPH has an amazing program that prepared me for the public health profession,” she said. “Thanks to the coursework, volunteering, research and leadership roles, I have a greater understanding of the public health field. I can combine my research and public health foundational skills to analyze and evaluate public health issues. The COPH is an environment filled with opportunity, collaboration and faculty who want to see you succeed!”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A physician

Where would we find you on the weekend?

I am either trying out a new restaurant or in the comfort of my own apartment.

What is the last book you read?

“Medical Apartheid,” by Harriet A. Washington

What superpower would you like to have?

Invisibility

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“Friday After Next”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Amanda DeWeese was pregnant with her oldest child when she began her graduate studies toward an MPH in maternal and child health at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health (USF COPH).

She had just earned two undergraduate degrees in 2008 from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in health promotion and Spanish.

The Northwestern Pennsylvania native, originally born in South Korea, said the USF COPH’s maternal and child health MPH program seemed like the best fit for her because not only could she relate, having just become a first-time mother, but it was also a chance to practice her public health passion in breastfeeding and supporting perinatal mental health.

“USF was definitely the best school with the best programs!” DeWeese said.

“Maternal and child health impacts the entire community,” she said. “We need to protect the rights and health of our most precious population.”

After earning her MPH in 2013, DeWeese became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), a title she’s held since 2017, and has also been an active La Leche League (LLL) leader since 2013.

She’s since launched her own private practice as an IBCLC, Sidekicks Lactation, where she provides evidence-based clinical lactation care and education, both in person and virtually.

“I love working with parents and babies!” she said. “I am constantly learning new things.”

She’s been helping families in the Tampa area with breastfeeding for almost 10 years, something she personally knows the ins and outs of as a mother to her, now, five sons.

“My breastfeeding journey began when my eldest son was born a preemie in 2010,” she says on her website bio. “With support from some great local LLL leaders, my son and I enjoyed a long and healthy breastfeeding relationship.”

The birth of her second and third sons provided her experience in tandem and triandem breastfeeding.

“Days after my fourth son was born, I received exciting news that I had passed the IBLCE exam,” DeWeese said. “With the help from my own little sidekicks, Sidekicks Lactation was born!”

In her role as an editor and research consultant for Sidekicks Editing and Research, she said she works primarily on dissertations and manuscripts for publication.

“I started out as a LLL Leader and wanted to be able to provide higher level care,” she said. “For editing and research, I’ve always enjoyed learning and writing. When I was given the opportunity to start writing and editing with one of my undergraduate professors, it seemed like such a natural fit.”

DeWeese said that owning her own private practice while also raising her five homeschooled sons has been her proudest professional achievement to date.

Her future career plans include expanding the practice to include collaboration with other birth workers.

DeWeese credits the information and skills she obtained while earning her MPH from the USF COPH to helping her achieve her personal career goals.

She’s particularly thankful to the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Russell Kirby, USF Distinguished Professor and Marrell Endowed Chair, and Dr. Deana Wathington, USF COPH affiliate professor and medical director of the Volusia Volunteers in Medicine in Daytona Beach.

One of the highlights of her time as a student, she said, was being able to include her baby in her capstone class project.

Being a new breastfeeding mom working toward a graduate degree was no easy feat, but she said the support she received at the USF COPH helped, something that she says only confirmed she had made the right choice for her degree path.

“I was able to exclusively breastfeed two babies (into toddlerhood) while completing my MPH degree with the support of my fellow students and faculty!” she said. “It was a wonderful experience with a lot of exciting opportunities.”

Alumni Fast Five: 

What did you dream of becoming when you were young? 

Prima ballerina.

Where would we find you on the weekend? 

The hockey rink!

What is the last book you read? 

“Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher.

What superpower would you like to have? 

Flying.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?  

That’s a tough one. I think I’d have to go with “The Blind Side.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Guatemala has the third-highest rate of femicide (the homicide of women based on gender) in the world. And according to UN Women, 21.2 percent of Guatemalan women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.

USF College of Public Health (COPH) MPH student Caitlynn Carr, who is also a doctoral candidate in applied anthropology at the university, is studying intimate partner violence (IPV) among Guatemalan women.

As part of her doctoral research, funded by a Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, Carr is conducting field research in Guatemala examining the barriers that indigenous women face when it comes to seeking help for IPV. Carr, who’s concentrating in maternal and child health, said examples of those barriers include governmental corruption, lack (and cost) of transportation, inability to take a day off from work, childcare issues and the fact that women rarely travel alone in the country. Other factors include racism against indigenous people, a machismo ideology, lack of services provided in Indigenous languages (there are 21 in Guatemala), fear of leaving a partner, economic dependence on a partner and others.

Carr’s research will also focus on ways to curb IPV.

Carr said she got interested in IPV in Guatemala when she visited the country with a Habitat for Humanity project in 2011. In 2015, she conducted research focused on Indigenous women’s psychosomatic/distress symptoms resulting from IPV.

“After conducting semi-structured interviews with 40 women and receiving surveys from 80 women, I found that only one of the participants sought formal services for the abuse that she experienced, illuminating a disconnection between IPV services and Indigenous women in rural areas of Guatemala [services are more prevalent/common in more urbanized areas],” Carr said.

Carr is currently living in Guatemala, immersing herself in the culture and living in the communities where she’s conducting her research. She cooks with community members, goes to church with them and builds friendships. Establishing these kinds of relationships is an important step to curbing IPV, Carr noted, as community-based and community-led programs have had more success than governmental programs at reducing IPV in Guatemala.

“Governmental programs oftentimes lack funding and resources, as well as personal outreach, which leads to limited accessibility and success. Oftentimes, nonprofit organizations fill in the gaps where governmental organizations fall short,” Carr said.

Carr­, who plans on pursuing postdoctoral research on violence prevention and IPV after graduation, hopes the research will illuminate potential avenues for violence prevention among Indigenous communities when formal governmental efforts fail.

“The research situates violence against Guatemalan women from a life course perspective and examines social determinants of health from both a socioeconomic and sociohistorical lens,” Carr said. “I’ll share study results with all stakeholders in the form of a comprehensive report and/or professional presentation with the hope of informing federal policy surrounding these issues.”

For information about family violence prevention and resources, visit the COPH’s Harrell Center.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post Examining intimate partner violence in Guatemala appeared first on College of Public Health News.

When Xonjenese Jacobs, a USF College of Public Health DrPH student, got her BSW degree, she knew she wanted to make at-promise adolescent girls her “population of choice.”

She now serves as the executive director of the Pace Center for Girls, Hernando, a position she was appointed to in July.

Pace Center for Girls is a national nonprofit with 23 communities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The organization provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, training and advocacy.

“Girls are the future and deserve an opportunity for success independent of where they find themselves in the present,” Jacobs said. “The work that Pace does is life changing through a girl-focused, multidisciplinary, gender-responsive, trauma-informed, strength-based approach. I have seen girls overcome significant barriers to reach goals that they have never thought to be attainable.”

As executive director, Jacobs is responsible for leadership, advocacy, budgeting, board governance and program operations directly associated with the Pace-Hernando, located in Spring Hill.

 The center offers a day program, where girls receive year-round school and services at no cost, personal guidance, counseling and career/college prep. They also have what they call a “Reach” program, which provides individual, peer-group and family therapy, individual goal setting, coping skills and other services to identified girls at schools in Hernando County.

And that mental health aspect is key to Pace’s success, says Jacobs.

“Education in and of itself is the gateway to success,” Jacobs explained. “But positive mental health outcomes influence the quality of life a girl may have for the better. By providing these girls with a solid foundation in the intellectual and emotional domains, we cultivate tools of resilience within them. We provide them with the necessary blueprint for how to navigate systems when they identify future challenges for not only themselves but their families.”

Jacobs, who previously was associate director of program performance for the Pace national office, credits her DrPH training with helping her lead Pace-Hernando.

“Being in the DrPH Program has strengthened my understanding of how diverse systems collaborate to influence health outcomes for the population as a whole,” she said. “With this knowledge, I am intentional about the community partnerships that we cultivate at Pace- Hernando to ensure we are connecting girls and their families to resources in each domain of optimal health.”

Jacobs plans on staying with Pace-Hernando after she earns her DrPH degree.

“My intention is to continue to serve as the executive director of Pace-Hernando while continuing to educate the community at large about the lived experiences of minority populations as it concerns mental health,” she said. “I feel fortunate to be a part of an entity that shifts the trajectory of girls’ lives for the better.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health (COPH) graduate student YaMaya Barley received the newly established Russell S. Kirby Scholarship in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) this past August.

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be graduate students enrolled full-time. Moreover, Dr. Russell Kirby, USF Distinguished Professor and Marrell Endowed Chair, created the scholarship to support those working in the field of maternal and child health.

“I am honored to be a recipient of this award because of Dr. Kirby’s dedication to maternal and child health,” Barley said. “This award will support my professional development.”

When asked how the scholarship committee chose Barley, Kirby said, “We were really looking for a student who, based on their personal statement, embodies the spirit of where the field of maternal and child health is going presently.”

Though the initial award is $500, Kirby hopes to accumulate more donations so that the University of South Florida can endow the award.

Pursuing her MPH with a concentration in maternal and child health at the COPH, Barley earned her associate of arts in medical sciences from Hillsborough Community College and her bachelor of science in public health from the COPH.

Upon graduating in the spring of 2023, Barley said that she wants to work to reduce maternal mortality, particularly among African-American women.

“As a Black woman, I am alarmed by the disparities that marginalized communities are burdened by, and I feel compelled to achieve health equity,” she said. “I hope to find a career that will allow me to address the disparity.”

Story by Parker Guevarra, USF College of Public Health

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September is National Child Passenger Safety Month

Every 33 seconds, the National Safety Council (NSC) reports that a child in this country is involved in a car crash. Every nine days, another child dies from heat stroke in a car. And 66 children are killed annually in backup crashes. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injuries and deaths throughout childhood.

These are preventable deaths, says Amy Artuso, a USF College of Public Health graduate who is also a senior program manager and mobility expert with the National Safety Council. She is working as the program manager for a team of child passenger safety experts to form the National Digital Car Seat Check Form (NCDF). The team consists of experts from NSC, Tennessee Tech University iCube and Westat, a company that provides research services to the U.S. government.

The NCDF is a free resource to help child passenger safety technicians (CPST) digitally document car seat checks. Technicians can input data collected at car seat check events and then use that data to monitor trends and highlight issues encountered in the field. While the data collected is primarily used to inform CPSTs, child passenger safety programs and car seat and vehicle manufacturers, Artuso notes that these forms can contribute to the safer design and engineering of car seats and automobiles alike. 

Artuso, who earned her MPH from the COPH with a concentration in maternal and child health, and is now a third-year DrPH student at USF, first became interested in the use of a digital car seat safety check form after attending a 2016 child passenger safety conference. “There was clearly an interest among child passenger safety constituents for a digital check form for car seat checks while working with parents and caregivers,” Artuso says. “At that time, there was not one national standardized digital check form available for use by all U.S. certified CPSTs.”

Released in 2018, the NDCF tracks patterns from car seat safety events about how a car seat is being used and how it’s been installed in the vehicle. It also documents any instruction that was given to the family by the CPSTs, including information about leaving a child in a car seat or vehicle unattended and checking for car seat and vehicle recalls. The form also tracks how the car seat is positioned and secured in the vehicle at the end of the event.

As of the end of August, says Artuso, 85,236 check forms have been entered into the NDCF. The data entered into the NDCF depicts a 60% postnatal misuse rate—meaning 60% of car seats that have been checked by CPSTs and that children ride in are not used correctly. 

“Child passenger safety is similar to putting a puzzle together,” Artuso says. “Every child, vehicle and car seat/booster seat are different. Understanding how children fit in a vehicle with a federally approved child restraint improves that child’s safety during transportation.”

For anyone doubting whether they have installed a car seat properly or that their child is restrained correctly, Artuso notes support from specially trained child passenger safety technicians is available, often at no cost. And for families that cannot afford a car seat, community programs can provide child restraints at reduced or no cost so that children can leave a car seat check safer than when they arrived.

“By improving car seat and vehicle compatibility through a review of car seat check data, as well as organically eliminating common forms of misuse through improved product engineering, we may be able to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that occur during motor vehicle crashes,” Artuso adds.  

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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