About the Program

NYSPHC Fellows

In the 2021 State of the State, the Governor announced the establishment of the first and best in the nation New York State Public Health Corps (NYSPHC) that will build public health capacity to support COVID-19 vaccination operations and to increase preparedness for future public health emergencies. The Governor directed the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to work with community partners to recruit and deploy up to 1,000 fellows to participate in the NYSPHC Program.

NYSPHC Fellows will use their talents and expertise to help advance our State’s public health agenda, while serving their communities.

The NYSPHC Fellowship Program provides full-time and part-time positions with placements at the NYSDOH, LHDs or other public health system partners. Candidates for the NYSPHC Fellowship Program include individuals with training or experience in nursing, allied health, healthcare, social services, communications, information technology, logistics, planning, education, data science, emergency health, and public health are encouraged to apply. Whatever your expertise, communities all over the state need your help and we encourage you to apply.

NYSPHC Fellows will be concurrently enrolled in Cornell University’s Public Health Essentials Certificate Program and other professional learning opportunities. The Cornell University Public Health Essentials Certificate Program is a 3-month online training designed to teach and review fundamental public health principles and key skills for practice. The training is a combination of recorded lectures, applied activities, and discussions that equip learners from diverse professional and educational backgrounds with the tools and skills needed to excel in the field of public health. Fellows will receive a professional certificate from Cornell University at the end of the online course, valued at $3,600 and provided at no cost to NYSPHC Fellows.

NYSPHC Fellows will carry out tasks necessary to meet State and LHDs public health mission and may:

A. Participate in community outreach, enrollment and engagement activities in order to:

Build trust and relationships with individuals in the community;
Enroll patients in programs, including scheduling for vaccination and follow-ups, making referrals to community-based resources and identifying barriers to vaccination as needed;
Attend community meetings as necessary; and
Develop and communicate outreach plans and strategies for particular communities with a team of local public health officials, other NYSPHC Fellows and Regional Team Leaders.

B. Utilize standard data collection tools and interviewing skills as well as observe, measure, record and report data related to a patient’s health including, but not limited to, individual medical, health care and support needs and individualized action plans for COVID-19 vaccination and safety; and/or

C. Communicate directly with individuals, patients, healthcare providers and colleagues to explain basic COVID-19 information, data and health concepts in ways that are familiar to patients and families while showing respect for individuals, their families, communities and colleagues.

Apply to Become a Fellow

NYSPHC Mentors

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is seeking community-based volunteer Mentors to serve as professional role models for NYSPHC Fellows and technical advisors beyond the classroom. Mentors facilitate the Fellows peer-learning and provide relevant mentoring, career planning and navigational support within the local public health landscape as the Fellows encounter new situations and challenges in new roles.

Mentors will provide support to Fellows based on the capacity of the Mentor and the needs of the local health department. Mentors may provide support to more than one Fellow through a group structure or individually. Mentors can be public health professionals who have served or are currently serving the community, who volunteer or are recruited by local health departments (LHDs) and their public health network partners to participate in the program in this capacity. Mentors are supported by NYSPHC Local Partnerships and Regional Consortiums.

Mentors can self-nominate, be nominated by a colleague, or recruited and nominated by an LHD or program partners including members of the Board of Health, NYS Medical Reserve Corps, Community Based Organizations, and others. Mentors should anticipate a term of approximately one-year to align with the expected one-year term of the Fellow(s). Please complete the Mentor Nomination form and the program will contact you!

Host Organizations

The NYSPHC Fellowship Program placements may be at the New York State Department of Health, LHDs, or other community public health system partners.

Fellows will be screened, hired, trained and initially report to a LHD to be located either within the LHD or assigned to a “host” organization within the local public health network, based on the urgency/emergency in the county or community. Host Organizations will directly supervise the day-to-day activities of the Fellows.

Institutions of Higher Education

Partnership with IHEs is an integral part of our program’s success. Through IHE workgroups, mentorship, and referrals, IHEs will ensure the program has cross-discipline perspectives to achieve program goals. We are currently seeking support from IHEs who are interested in participating in our IHE workgroup to help inform NYSPHC program development.

We ask that interested IHEs please complete our IHE Outreach Survey to help us learn more about your interest in mentorship and workgroups and how we can work together.

Workgroups

Institutions of Higher Education

In order to support the NYSPHC mission and to enhance the NYSPHC Fellow’s experience, stakeholders in counties’ public health networks, including higher education institutions, have been organized into working groups for the purpose of identifying and recruiting mentors, offering professional learning opportunities and sharing best practices from the field of public health. Institutions of higher education (IHEs) will play a critical role in the NYSPHC through workgroups, mentorship and referrals, which will ensure the program has cross-discipline perspectives to achieve program goals.

The goal of the IHE Workgroup is to improve the NYSPHC Fellowship and experience by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of IHE Faculty and Staff. NYSPHC is hosting the first series of five meetings between September 2022 and February 2023.

IHE Workgroup Members:

Provide feedback and input into development and implementation of the NYSPHC Program.
Assist with the development of and completion of action items as assigned by the workgroup.
Outside of workgroup meetings, serve as an ambassador for the NYSPHC Program, and use connections and resources to contribute to promotion and development of the NYSPHC Program.

If you are interested in joining the IHE workgroup or have questions, please use the IHE Workgroup Interest form and the program will contact you.

The Critical Partnerships with IHEs will:

Promote:

Actions

Refer colleagues, students, and community members.
Serve as an ambassador of the NYSPHC within your network.

Outcomes

Applicant, placement, and mentor opportunities.
Program recognition and reputation for building channels for referrals.

Partnerships with IHEs is an integral part of our program’s success. IHE participation in the workgroup will ensure the program has cross-discipline perspectives to achieve program goals. We are currently seeking support from IHEs who are interested in participating in our IHE workgroup to help inform NYSPHC program development.

Connect:

Actions

Identify community organizations for collaboration.
Identify appropriate connections between disciplines.

Outcomes

Additional and improved community connections.
Connecting interdisciplinary best practices from research to the field of public health.

Enhance:

Actions

Participate in cross-discipline NYSPHC workgroups.
Collaborate to define NYSPHC core public health-focused topics and identify subject matter experts.
Identify stakeholders and serve as leaders and mentors.

Outcomes

Increased or improved alignment in strategies to improve health.
Access to NYSPHC educational resources and training.
Enhance alignment between education and practice.

If you are interested in joining the IHE workgroup or have questions, please use the IHE Workgroup Interest form and the program will contact you.

Local Health Department (LHD) Workgroup

To collect feedback on program implementation to date and inform future planning, the NYSPHC Fellowship Program is partnering with the New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO) to convene a Local Health Department (LHD) Workgroup comprised of approximately 20 LHDs across New York State.

This workgroup will convene for six meetings beginning in late Fall 2022 and will discuss a variety of topics related to the NYSPHC Fellowship Program, including Fellowship roles, existing program elements such as training and mentorship, administrative processes, and sustainability. We look forward to hearing from our LHD partners!