Public Health Institute

PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE GENERATES AND PROMOTES RESEARCH, LEADERSHIP AND PARTNERSHIPS TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY, PROGRAMS, SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES.

TRACING HEALTH IS A COVID-19 RESPONSE AND PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM SERVING PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS. IN 2021, TRACING HEALTH SUPPORTED PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS IN WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA. SERVICES INCLUDED COVID-19 CASE INVESTIGATION AND CONTACT TRACING; RESOURCE REFERRALS AND CASE MANAGEMENT; EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS; VACCINE CALL CENTERS; FIELD-BASED VACCINE OUTREACH AND NON-CLINICAL STAFFING; AND CONSULTING ON COVID-19 RESPONSE APPROACHES. FUNDING SOURCES INCLUDE FOUNDATIONS AND GOVERNMENT SOURCES. TRACING HEALTH UTILIZES PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE'S ROBUST OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND DEPLOY HIGHLY QUALIFIED STAFF, QUICKLY REACHING REQUIRED STAFFING LEVELS AND RESPONDING TO EMERGING NEEDS. LANGUAGE ACCESS AND CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS IS A KEY ELEMENT OF TRACING HEALTH. TRACING HEALTH PRIORITIZES HIRING FROM COMMUNITIES MOST IMPACTED BY COVID-19. THE MAJORITY OF TRACING HEALTH STAFF ARE BILINGUAL, BICULTURAL, AND/OR BRING LIVED EXPERIENCE AS A MEMBER OF A COMMUNITY THAT EXPERIENCES HEALTH INEQUITY. IN 2021, TRACING HEALTH HAD OVER 500 STAFF, 93 PERCENT OF WHOM WERE BILINGUAL OR MULTILINGUAL, ALLOWING THEM TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. UPON HIRE, STAFF RECEIVE OVER 100 HOURS OF TRAINING, COVERING TOPICS FROM CONTACT TRACING AND MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID CERTIFICATION TO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TRAINING ON STATE AND COUNTY DATA PLATFORMS. ADDITIONAL TRAINING DURING EMPLOYMENT PREPARES THEM TO REMAIN IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE AFTER TRACING HEALTH.

TOGETHER TOWARD HEALTH (TTH), A PROGRAM OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE, WORKS TO SLOW AND STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN CALIFORNIA, WITH A FOCUS ON BLACK, LATINX, NATIVE AMERICAN, IMMIGRANT AND LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE BEEN HIT HARDEST BY THE PANDEMIC. WE SUPPORT COVID RECOVERY EFFORTS THAT ARE ROOTED IN HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIVE, WHERE THEY ARE, ORGANIZED BY PEOPLE THEY TRUST AND OFFERED IN THE LANGUAGES THEY SPEAK. LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2020, TTH IS A DYNAMIC POOLED FUND, CREATED AND SUPPORTED BY MAJOR PHILANTHROPIES TO ADDRESS THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN CALIFORNIA'S MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. THROUGH CAREFUL COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, TTH RESOURCES HAVE WORKED TO SUPPORT EDUCATION, AWARENESS AND OUTREACH TO MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, INCREASE VACCINE AWARENESS AND ACCESS, AND PROVIDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL ECONOMIC RESILIENCE. AS A FISCAL INTERMEDIARY, TTH PROVIDED PHILANTHROPIC FUNDERS WITH A SINGLE POINT OF INVESTMENT TOWARDS A SET OF GOALS RELATED TO COVID STATEWIDE AND THEN TTH IDENTIFIED THE ORGANIZATIONS TO FUND THROUGH A CONTRACT WITH PHI. BY DESIGN, TTH ALSO ACTED AS A CONVENER, MEDIATOR, RESOURCE, THOUGHT PARTNER, AND CAPACITY BUILDER FOR THE GRANTEES. THE EFFICIENCIES OF HOW PHI CONTRACTED AND RELEASED FUNDS, ALONG WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE FUNDING, CREATED CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPACTS ON COVID, GOVERNMENT-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ACROSS CALIFORNIA

CHILDREN'S ONCOLOGY GROUP COORDINATING CENTER: MONROVIA, CA: THE PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE SERVES AS THE CHILDREN'S ONCOLOGY GROUP COORDINATING CENTER (COGCC) IN MONROVIA, CALIFORNIA. COGCC IS THE PRIMARY HEADQUARTERS FOR THE OPERATIONS OF THE CHILDREN'S ONCOLOGY GROUP (COG), PROVIDING ADMINISTRATIVE AS WELL AS STATISTICAL AND DATA MANAGEMENT SUPPORT. COG, A NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) SUPPORTED CLINICAL TRIALS GROUP, IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST ORGANIZATION DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT CANCER RESEARCH. THE NCI COOPERATIVE GROUP SYSTEM FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH BEGAN IN 1955 WITH A CONSORTIUM FOCUSED ON CHILDHOOD CANCER RESEARCH. BY THE END OF THE 1990S THERE WERE NINE GROUPS FUNDED BY THE NCI TO CONDUCT RESEARCH IN ADULTS WITH CANCER, AND FOUR COOPERATIVE GROUPS FUNDED WITH A FOCUS ON CHILDHOOD CANCER RESEARCH. IN 2000, THE FOUR PEDIATRIC GROUPS VOLUNTARILY MERGED EFFORTS TO CREATE THE CHILDREN'S ONCOLOGY GROUP. TOGETHER, COG AND COGCC HAVE TWENTY-TWO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN CARRYING OUT EFFICIENT, HIGH IMPACT RESEARCH FOR CHILDREN WITH CANCER. APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THE 16,000 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES ARE CARED FOR AT COG MEMBER INSTITUTIONS. THE COG COORDINATING CENTER STAFF COMPRISE A NUMBER OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS SUPPORTING CLINICAL TRIAL OPERATIONS. COGCC'S FULL STAFF INCLUDES ABOUT 110 TEAM MEMBERS, WITH ABOUT 7 ADDITIONAL FACULTY STATISTICIANS, EMPLOYED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WORKING OUT OF COGCC'S MONROVIA OFFICE. TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF PROTOCOL COORDINATORS, DATA MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS AND STATISTICIANS. ADDITIONAL STAFFING GROUPS INCLUDE OPERATIONS AND FINANCE, QUALITY ASSURANCE & SITE AUDITING, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, COMPLEX CLINICAL PROJECTS, PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY RELATIONS, AND GROUP MEMBERSHIP. EACH WORK GROUP HAS A MANAGER OR DIRECTOR WITH CONSIDERABLE INDEPENDENCE AND FLEXIBILITY IN MANAGING HIS/HER AREA - THIS ENSURES THAT WE CAN RAPIDLY AND EFFICIENTLY RESPOND TO COG NEEDS. COG IS STRUCTURED TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY, PROMOTE COLLABORATION, AND RETAIN THE FLEXIBILITY TO FOCUS RESOURCES ON THE MOST PROMISING SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES. EXTENSIVE COLLABORATION AND INTEGRATION IS FOUND THROUGHOUT COG'S ORGANIZATION. FOR EXAMPLE, THE STRATEGIC DECISION TO ESTABLISH THE FREESTANDING COG COORDINATING CENTER IN MONROVIA, CA, COMPOSED OF COG'S OPERATIONS CENTER CO-LOCATED WITH KEY COMPONENTS OF COG'S STATISTICS & DATA CENTER, HELPS ENSURE THE LONG-TERM STABILITY OF THE COG RESEARCH ENTERPRISE AND ALLOWS FOR UNINTERRUPTED RESEARCH OPERATIONS THROUGH LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS. AT ANY GIVEN TIME, THE COG COORDINATING CENTER IS SUPPORTING APPROXIMATELY 45 STUDIES IN DEVELOPMENT, 70 STUDIES ACTIVELY ENROLLING NEW SUBJECTS, AND 100 STUDIES CLOSED TO ENROLLMENT FOR WHICH DATA COLLECTION IS COMPLETED AND DATA ANALYSIS IS IN PROCESS. ANNUALLY, THE COG COORDINATING CENTER FACILITATES APPROXIMATELY 3,200 ENROLLMENTS ONTO COG THERAPEUTIC STUDIES AND MORE THAN 9,000 ENROLLMENTS ONTO NON-THERAPEUTIC STUDIES, WHICH INCLUDE BIOLOGY, SUPPORTIVE CARE, EPIDEMIOLOGY, QUALITY OF LIFE, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE, AND LATE-EFFECT STUDIES. THE COORDINATING CENTER ALSO SUPPORTS THE ONGOING FOLLOW-UP DATA COLLECTION FOR THE MORE THAN 32,000 CHILDREN ANNUALLY WHO CONTINUE TO BE EVALUATED AT COG MEMBER INSTITUTIONS FOR STUDIES ON WHICH THEY HAVE COMPLETED THERAPY.

FOR 50 YEARS, PHI HAS IMPLEMENTED RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE ACROSS CALIFORNIA, THE U.S., AND THE WORLD. PHI IS A HUB FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INNOVATION, PROVIDING SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, RESOURCES, AND INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY WITH SOME OF THE BEST MINDS IN PUBLIC HEALTH. WITH OVER 100 RESEARCHERS AND PROJECT DIRECTORS - AND OVER 1000 STAFF WORLDWIDE - PHI LEADS NEW RESEARCH, TESTS NOVEL INTERVENTIONS, AND IMPLEMENTS AND BUILDS CAPACITY FOR ON-THE-GROUND PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS NEW AND EMERGING PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, PHI PROGRAMS COMPRISE ONE OF THE LARGEST OBESITY NETWORKS IN THE COUNTRY, ADDRESSING AN EPIDEMIC THAT HAS REACHED COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD, RAISING THE RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASES LIKE CANCER, HEART DISEASE, AND DIABETES. GLOBALLY, PHI IS DISMANTLING THE BARRIERS TO HEALTH AND OPPORTUNITY EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE U.S. AND CREATING GENDER EQUITY PARTNERSHIPS. PHI IS DEVELOPING WORKFORCE PIPELINE PROGRAMS TO TRAIN AND GRADUATE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR POPULATION AND WHO WILL MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR CARE. PHI IS ALSO AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC, SUPPORTING LOCAL MULTI-SECTOR COALITIONS ADDRESSING PREVENTION AND NEW SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE MODELS. IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS, SYSTEMS AND RESEARCH THAT CONNECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE DELIVERY THRU NEW DESIGN METHODS AND DATA TOOLS, WE ARE BRIDGING HISTORIC GAPS IN POPULATION HEALTH. PHI SPEARHEADS TRAININGS AND SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH, ALTHOUGH TYPICALLY FRAMED AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, REPRESENTS A HUGE THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH. TOGETHER, PHI PROGRAMS ARE HELPING TO CREATE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN ACHIEVE THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. THE BREADTH OF PHI EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE POSITIONS US AS A PREMIER PARTNER AND LEADER IN PUBLIC HEALTH.