Zach Harley Goes “Behind the Scenes” in Public Health Planning

During his time as a fall 2021 Region IV PHTC Pathways to Practice Scholar, Zach was a fulltime student pursuing a Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Health Behavior and Health Promotion at the Medical University of South Carolina. Zach had a rewarding experience putting public health into action at Roper St. Francis Healthcare located in Charleston, SC. Zach collaborated with churches and community groups in rural and underserved areas to identify the most significant health needs to develop an action plan that supported their health ministry efforts. Zach also helped coordinate opioid reduction events and enhanced his understanding of the planning process for conducting a community health needs assessment. Here is Zach’s reflection on his experience in his own words:

Working with the Community Outreach Team at Roper St. Francis Healthcare this past semester was a valuable experience. Originally, this internship agency appealed to me because of the opportunity to work with people in the community and help organize and plan interventions aimed at helping people live healthier lives. However, due to organizational shifting and COVID-19, the projects I originally intended to work with were not able to be performed. However, through this shift, I was able to gain valuable experience in the behind the scenes aspect of public health.

I attended many coalition and partnership meetings. In these meetings, I truly saw how organizations come together to address public health needs. I learned that many people are involved in planning and implementing, and that check-in meetings are imperative. I learned that networking and building relationships with people of other organizations goes a long way to implementing public health change. In the end, I was able to assist with two community events.

Through these events I experienced how much public health is needed. However, I also experienced how simply having a conversation with someone can go far. I have gained valuable people skills through this experience, and I believe I will take those with me into my career in public health and to other areas of my life. Overall, I am very grateful for the experience I had with Roper St. Francis Healthcare Community Outreach.