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Center for Population Health

Schools

Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions

The Center for Population Health opens in Fall 2024.

The Center for Population Health within the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions is an innovative, interdisciplinary center designed to address the multifaceted health challenges facing communities.

Programs within the Center for Population Health include healthcare leadership, social work, sociology, and public health.

The Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions Difference

The Center for Population Health offers a unique educational experience that prepares students to address the complex challenges facing communities and to promote health and well-being for all. Through interdisciplinary education, research, and community engagement, the center cultivates compassionate and competent leaders equipped to make meaningful contributions to healthcare and population health.

Dr. Gwen Wagstrom Halaas, Dean, Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions

The purpose of this center is to help address the challenging issues of social determinants of health and health inequities. Population health brings together knowledge from disciplines that include the health sciences, social sciences, public policy, law, business, education, and others in exciting and innovative ways to influence health.

Interdisciplinary Environment

The center integrates various disciplines to provide a comprehensive understanding of population health dynamics, social determinants of health, and the need for health equity. This approach creates opportunities for faculty within the center to collaborate with faculty from other disciplines across the college, network with external experts, and cultivate future healthcare leaders.

Learning Outcomes

Learn to assess community needs and develop culturally sensitive interventions.
Examine topics surrounding healthcare access, inequality, and the social construction of health and illness.
Gain critical insights into the root causes of health disparities and the mechanisms through which social factors influence health outcomes.
Understand how to advocate for policies that advance social justice and improve sustainable health systems.

Community Engagement

Field placements and community-based experience provide students with hands-on learning in addressing health disparities and fostering community empowerment.

Postgraduate Preparation

Programs offered through the Center for Population Health will prepare students to be healthcare leaders and administrators, social workers, and public and community health workers. Graduates will gain a broader knowledge of population health to apply throughout their careers and have the foundation to earn graduate degrees in areas such as public health, social work, healthcare administration, health policy, or medical sociology.

Contact

Dr. Gwen Wagstrom Halaas

Dean, Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions

P 218.299.4981

E ghalaas@cord.edu