Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators Fall Conference 2023
The Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators (IAPHA) held their first conference in East Peoria from September 19-21. Proudly supported by the IAPHA and the P3RC, the IAPHA core planning team tailored the conference to address the training and development needs of IAPHA’s membership, which were identified during a strategic planning process.
“After responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, IAPHA saw issues including high turnover rates, staff burnout, continued workforce training challenges, legal concerns, and many more, throughout the State of Illinois” - Hillary Aggertt, IAPHA Core Planning Team Member
Each featured national speaker was selected to address the needs of Illinois’ public health administrators. Training topics ranged from legislation to leadership. Speakers from Network for Public Health Law and Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center gave tailored and interactive training and presentations.
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Administrators representing 49 counties in Illinois gathered in-person at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in East Peoria to learn from presentations and connect with each other on current triumphs, initiatives, and opportunities within and across their local health departments.
Tuesday, September 19th, 2023
The P3RC’s Dr. Christina Welter and Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center's Sarah Davis kicked off the conference with hands-on activities to get administrators thinking about how to address complex public health issues using the Public Health Learning Agenda for Systems Change toolkit.
Wednesday, September 20th, 2023
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) director, Dr. Sameer Vohra launched the morning with a presentation about the importance of continuing a unified vision for public health and a blueprint for IDPH’s path forward. Following the director’s presentation, Stephen Murphy and Carrie Waggoner from the Network for Public Health Law equipped administrators with resources on public health legal authority and how to work with an attorney as a local health department.
After a networking lunch, administrators attended breakout and popcorn (or Public Health speed dating) sessions on:
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- Data use for strategic and environmental change
- Partnerships
- Legislation
- Communication
- Community assessment
- Event planning
- Quality improvement and program planning
- Staff wellness
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On Wednesday evening, administrators attended a reception and enjoyed a lively gift exchange, featuring products from counties across the state. Items ranged from local snacks, to courthouse art books, to a replica of Abe Lincon’s top hat.
Thursday, September 21st, 2023
Early Thursday morning, Dr. Dietra Hawkins of Both/And Partners presented on Trauma Informed Care and Healthy Equity. The presenter discussed trauma’s influence on population and individual health.
Rachel Tenenbaum of I AM Living closed off the conference with her presentation on the 7 Levels of Leadership and gave an overview of the characteristics of optimized leadership within an organizational setting.
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Thank you!
Thank you Bart Hagston, Hillary Aggertt, Amy Fox, and Amanda Mehl (pictured on the right, from left to right) for their efforts in bringing the administrators together and planning an invigorating conference!