North Carolina Local Health Director Orientation (2023)

About the Program

The 2023 Local Health Director Orientation Program is a hybrid program consisting of both in-person group sessions and online self-paced content. Please follow the agenda for recommendations on how to move through the program. Self-paced content is provided below.

Additional program information will be conveyed through email, but for any questions regarding program logistics please reach out to Cherelle Whitfield.

Thank you!
2023 Orientation Planning Committee

• Tracey Simmons-Kornegay, Co-Chair, North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors (NCALHD), Education and Awards Committee (Health Director, Duplin)
• Helene Edwards, NCALHD Education and Awards Committee (Health Director, Hoke)
• Stacie Saunders, Deputy Director/Section Chief, Local and Community Support, NC Division of Public Health, NC Department of Health and Human Services
• Ki’Yonna Jones, Senior Training Associate, NC Institute for Public Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Month 1: Governance and Epidemiology

This content should be completed in advance of the first in-person session (by Thursday, July 20).

*Content indicated with an asterisk was originally recorded as part of a live session.

Governance

• Public Health in North Carolina — How We Work Together in a Decentralized Public Health World (Slides)
  Stacie Saunders, MPH (Deputy Director/Chief, Local and Community Support Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
• Governance Structure of Local Health Departments
  • North Carolina Public Health and the Law* (Slides)
    Virginia Niehaus, JD, MPH (Chief, Office of Regulator and Legal Affairs, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
  • Local Public Health Organization and Governance in North Carolina* (Slides)
    Jill Moore, JD, MPH, BSPH (Associate Professor of Public Law and Government, UNC School of Government)
• Introduction to the North Carolina Public Health Collaboration (Slides)
  Patrick Brown, PharmD (Executive Director, NCALHD & Executive Director, NC Public Health Association)
  

Epidemiology

• North Carolina Epidemiology Section — Focus on Communicable Disease and Preparedness
  • Epidemiology* (Slides)
    Zack Moore, MD, MPH (Chief, Epidemiology Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
  • North Carolina Public Health Law and Epidemiology* (Slides)
    Virginia Niehaus, JD, MPH (Chief, Office of Regulator and Legal Affairs, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

Evaluation

Participants are requested to complete a Month 1 Evaluation Survey to provide feedback about the first month of self-paced content.

Month 2: Environmental Health, State Lab, Oral Health, Local Health Director Perspectives

This content should be completed in advance of the second in-person session (by Thursday, August 17).

*Content indicated with an asterisk was originally recorded as part of a live session.

Environmental Health

• Environmental Health Overview for Local Health Directors (Slides)
  Larry Michael, REHS, MPH (Chief and State Environmental Health Director, Environmental Health Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

State Lab

• State Laboratory of Public Health* (Slides)
  Scott M. Shone, PhD, HCLD (Laboratory Director, State Laboratory of Public Health, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

Oral Health

• Oral Health Section Overview (Slides)
  Rhonda Stephens, DDS, MPH (Acting Chief and State Dental Director, Oral Health Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

Local Health Director Perspectives

• Perspective of a Local Health Director Related to Epidemiology and Environmental Health
  Lillian Koontz, MPA, REHS (Health Director, Davidson County Health Department)
• Perspective of a Local Health Director Related to State Lab, OCME and Oral Health
  Kimberly Smith, RN, BSN, MSHCA (Health Director, Columbus County Health Department)
  *Note: Additional OCME content will follow in month 3.

Evaluation

Participants are requested to complete a Month 2 Evaluation Survey to provide feedback about the second month of self-paced content.

Month 3: Finances, Chronic Disease and Injury, OCME, Women and Children, CHA-CHIP-SOTCH Cycle, Local Health Director Perspectives

Finances

• Funding Streams: Putting Funding Together to Get the Work Done (Slides)
  Stacie Saunders, MPH (Deputy Director/Chief, Local and Community Support Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
• North Carolina Aid-to-County Database (Slides)
  Rebecca Webb, BS (Administrative and Financial Consultant, Local and Community Support Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
• North Carolina Medicaid
  • Local Health Department Cost Report, Settlement and Directed Payments
    Steven Garner, MPH (Director of Cost Reporting and Financial Consulting Services, North Carolina Alliance of Public Health Agencies)
  • North Carolina Medicaid Program Overview
    Jay Ludlam, JD (Deputy Secretary for North Carolina Medicaid, NC DHHS)

Chronic Disease and Injury

• Chronic Disease and Injury Section Overview
  Kimberly McDonald, MD (Chief, Chronic Disease and Injury Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

OCME

• Office of Chief Medical Examiner (Slides)
  Michelle Aurelius, MD (Chief Medical Examiner, North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

Women and Children

• Women, Infant and Community Wellness Programs
  Belinda Pettiford, MPH (Chief, Women, Infant and Community Wellness Section, NC DPH, NC DHHS)
• Division of Child and Family Well-Being Overview
  Yvonne Copeland, MBA (Director, Division of Child and Family Well-Being)

The CHA-CHIP-SOTCH Cycle and Health Services Analysis

• CHA-CHIP-SOTCH and the Health Services Analysis Activity
  Kathy Dail, MEd, PhD (Director, Healthy North Carolina 2030, NC DPH, NC DHHS)

Local Health Director Perspectives

• Perspective of a Local Health Director (Related to Chronic Disease and Women’s Health) (Slides)
  Helene Edwards, MS, RD, LDN (Health Director, Hoke County Health Department)
• Perspectives on Clinical Operations in Medicaid (Slides)
  Jennifer Greene, MPH (Health Director/CEO, Appalachian District Health Department and Secretary/Treasurer, North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors)

Evaluation

Participants are requested to complete a Month 3 Evaluation Survey to provide feedback about the second month of self-paced content.

Partners

This program is jointly provided by:

• The North Carolina Institute for Public Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
• The North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors
• The NC Division of Public Health, NC Department of Health and Human Services

Funding for this program is provided by NC Division of Public Health at the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Lunch sponsorship is provided by the NC Alliance of Public Health Agencies.