Spring Break
Lack of public health professionals alarming
Hannah Alexander
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: News
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According to Harrison Spencer, ASPH president, two studies conducted in 1980 and 2000 found that Pennsylvania ranked among the lowest of all states in the number of public health workers per capita. However, when the assessment was released by the ASPH, the fact that 23 percent of the current public health workforce is up for retirement during the next presidential term was not taken into account.
"Our figures did not include projections for retirement," Spencer said. "The estimate is conservative."
The Drexel University School of Public Health is the only public health school located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The SPH became an associate member of the ASPH in the fall of 2002 and then an accredited member in July 2004. According to Marla Gold, dean of the SPH, there are several reasons why Pennsylvania is currently lacking in public health workers.
"Among 67 counties in Pennsylvania, there are only six health departments at this time," Gold said. "Further of the existing health departments, including the largest one in Philadelphia, are understaffed and under resourced."
The National Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis report in 2000 estimated Pennsylvania's public health workforce was 4,465. The ASPH predicts that Pennsylvania's public health workforce needs to increase to over 28,000 by 2020 in order to address the state's public health concerns.
According to Gold, the Drexel SPH is trying to meet the demands for an increased public health workforce, and in the last six years the school's enrollment has tripled.
"The good news is that the field and importance of public health are becoming increasingly better known, and with that heightened knowledge comes the promise of more positions," Gold said.
Dennis Andrulis, associate dean of research at the Drexel SPH, said he believes the public health worker shortage is not only a community problem, but also a national problem.
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