Celebrating the Moment: The Dartmouth Institute Graduates Its Public Health & Healthcare Leaders of 2020

Amid a global pandemic and the horrifying acts of violence taking place in the U.S., The Dartmouth Institute graduates of 2020 share a renewed determination to use their public health training to create a better world.  

On Friday, June 12, The Dartmouth Institute community gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of 93 newly minted MPH, MS, and PhD alumni through the Institute’s virtual Class Day ceremony. They are poised to become trailblazers in their diverse goals to transform health and healthcare.

Shruthi Patchava MPH’20, the student speaker for the Institute's on-campus programs, told her classmates that the healthcare system today presents paradoxes that challenge the values of accessibility and equity. Patchava, a healthcare consultant who is focused on advocating for the development of value-based models of care that are culturally relevant, stressed that her classmates’ insights “need to be heard.”

"By working in public health, you will continue to be motivated by your ideals and you will choose, over and over again, the option that things could be better," Patchava advised. "By bridging the skills that you have gained in epidemiology, statistics, policy, and research, you are actively choosing not to settle for things as they are, but as what they could be. That is the vision that will set you apart as leaders in healthcare and in society."Dominique Lee MPH’20, vice president of patient services at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, is driven by a lifelong passion for social justice and securing access to high-quality, compassionate, and culturally sensitive healthcare for vulnerable populations. As the student speaker from the Institute’s online/hybrid MPH program she told graduates that today’s crises are “our generation’s greatest wake-up call.”

"We are the dissenters who reject what harms the health and wellness of our fractured communities," Lee said. "No matter how great the problem or challenge, we are the ones that will push for change through research and speaking out. We will produce active solutions. But most of all, we will make others pay attention and not allow problems to be ignored."

The graduates also heard directly from a leader on the front lines of COVID-19 care. Keynote speaker and alumnus Benjamin Chan, MD, MPH’13 has spearheaded New Hampshire’s response to COVID-19 as the state epidemiologist for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. He described public health as a “team-based sport” where the diverse perspectives and skills the graduates bring are essential for furthering the work of the field.

"We can't forget about the underlying social, economic, behavioral, and racial disparities out there that are contributing to health,” Chan said. “Change will not happen overnight, but it's important for all of us to work together collectively to address these challenges. That remains critically important, especially in these very divisive times."

In their various roles as clinicians, healthcare professionals, program managers, researchers, and aspiring medical students, The Dartmouth Institute graduates are dedicated to improving health systems, increasing access to care, and advancing health policy reform. They are the leaders we need today, more than ever.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! See more highlights below.

Explore the Class Day 2020 Highlights:

Names of Graduates and Class Poster Downloads

Award Recipients

Memories and Well-Wishes

Class Day Program

 

 

 

 

On-Campus MPH Internship Awards (and their project and field sites)

• Brianna Ambrus – Transitions to Home Qualitative Interviewing Study for Opioid-exposed Newborns; Department of Pediatrics, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
• Divya Chawla – An Investigation into Causes and Predictors of Burnout in NHS doctors; National Health Service
• MaryKate Duska – Development of a Naloxone Distribution Program in an Outpatient OB/GYN Clinic; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Jared Heinze – The Ryan White CARE Program: Client Satisfaction Survey and New Hampshire Comprehensive HIV Needs Assessment; New Hampshire Deivison of Public Health Services
• Brooke McNaughton – Lown Institute Hospital Index and Right Care Alliance study groups: content development and research to support nonpartisan public health projects; The Lown Institute and The Right Care Alliance
• Danielle Voke – Harnessing Health Care Hacks: Aggregation and Reporting of COVID-19 Innovations of Seriously Ill Patients; Serious Illness Health Care Delivery Incubator, The Dartmouth Institute
   

On-Campus MPH and MS Capstone Awards (and their project titles)

• Natalie Anderson, Identification of the Barriers and Facilitators to Increased Uptake of Interventions Targeted at Improving Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Rates among Healthcare Professionals
• MaryKate Duska, The Effect of Naloxone Co-Prescribing Laws on Opioid Overdose Mortality
• Amy Li, Improving Paternity Leave: Why it Matters and How to Get Men to Use It
• Jennifer Marcus, Pharmacists, Prescribers, and Politics: The New Wave of Pharmacist-Prescribed Hormonal Contraceptive Legislation
• Shruthi Patchava, The Ebola Epidemic—A Scoping Review of Community Perspectives Towards Public Health Interventions in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea
• Danielle Voke, Accessibility, Convenience and Empowerment: Patient Experiences Using Telecontraception
   

Hybrid MPH Practicum Awards (and their project and field sites)

• J. Chris Carlson – Potential Policy Reforms to Nursing Facility Staffing Rates in Virginia; Virginia Health Care Association & Virginia Center for Assisted Living
• Autri Chattopadhyay – An Analysis of Quality Outcomes in Long-Term Care Hospitals; Duke University Fuqua School of Business
• Jenifer Glatz – Engaging Families of Children with Medical Complexity in Redefining Quality Measures for Psychosocial Needs; Complex Care Service at Boston Children’s Hospital
• Krissy Ramin – Exploring Current Models for Care Management by Investigating how Social Determinants of Health Impact a Payer’s Ability to Reach and Engage Members in Massachusetts; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Olivia Sharrow – Transactional Sex in the US: Laws and their Health Consequences; Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
• Stuart Watson – Community Input for Statewide HIV-Related Stigma Reduction Efforts in Hawaii’s State Plan; State of Hawaii Department of Health
   

Henry Masters Award

Established in 2010 in memory of Dartmouth Institute student Henry Masters, this award honors students who are "continuing to carry Henry's torch" with making a lasting difference in health and healthcare, especially for underserved populations.

• Brandon Brooks, On-Campus Program
• David Scher, Online/Hybrid Program
   

Dartmouth Institute Leadership Awards

Sponsored by Kofi Cash MS ’01, this award recognizes students for their leadership skills and their capability to provide meaningful leadership in the most vulnerable markets across the United States.

• Natalie Anderson, Online/Hybrid Program
• Matthew Sangphet, On-Campus Program
   

Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society inductees

Hybrid Program:

• Kayla Fay
• Jessica Hensley
• Nicole Redvers

On-Campus Program:

• MaryKate Duska
• Joshua Loughran
• Shruthi Patchava
   

Class Day Student Speakers

• Shruthi Patchava, On-Campus Program
• Dominique Lee, Hybrid Program

 

POSTED 6/12/2020 AT 04:50 PM IN #news #education