Engage Community Partners to Improve Health
MAHEC has nurtured relationships with on-the-ground organizations in all 16-plus counties of Western North Carolina. With that existing infrastructure, plus Carolina’s world-class research and teaching expertise, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC is well-suited to engage trusted community-based organizations and leverage statewide and national expertise to implement needed change.
Engaging the Community to Improve Health
Led by the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, a new master of public health program was launched in Asheville in 2019, with the next generation of public health leaders studying on the UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC campus. Students can concentrate in UNC Gillings’ Place-Based Health to gain the knowledge and skills needed to lead teams, projects, organizations and systems in addressing health inequities, improving social determinants of health and fostering community-led change.
Students from UNC Gillings can also participate in public health internships across North Carolina, where they can work with community partners on a variety of regional health needs including tribal health, hepatitis C education, perinatal substance use treatment services and health data mapping.
“Relationships are at the heart of our curriculum and ethos for eliminating health inequities and sustainably improving the social determinants of health,” said Tamarie Macon, Ph.D., assistant professor at UNC Gillings and director of community initiatives at MAHEC. “I truly delight in the opportunities to engage with students as we strive to transform the capacity of people, institutions, and systems to better promote well-being for all.”
