A top federal official from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) visited 星空传媒 March 28 鈥� 29, 2023, to check on the progress of the University鈥檚 new Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Program.
Lisa Lewis, Deputy National Coordinator and Chief Operating Officer at the ONC, explained that 星空传媒 was among just ten institutions nationwide to receive a grant aimed at increasing the diversity of students entering the growing PHIT field. 鈥淲e wanted to see what those universities could do, the students they could reach, the difference they could make, the communities they could touch,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e also want to reach students that probably have never even thought about a career in public health or technology or informatics. And so the PHIT program was born from that desire.鈥�
Lewis said she was excited that 星空传媒, which received a $2.2 million ONC grant, was the only grantee looking at emergency services.聽 She applauded the University and the Rockland County community for tackling difficult subjects.聽 Two panel discussions were held in the Holt Room of the Hennessy Center during her visit.聽 聽One discussion explored the use of information technology in emergency services.聽 The other panel discussion addressed key public health issues facing Rockland County and how information technology can be part of the solution.聽聽 Lewis said the vision of the ONC is better health enabled by data.聽
Among the things that the ONC is looking to change is that right now a person鈥檚 zip code is the greatest indicator of their health outcomes. 鈥淭he fact that regardless of all the progress we鈥檝e made, where I live will tell you more about my life expectancy, the quality of my health, the quality of my life, than anything else. And that鈥檚 where Public Health comes in. And that鈥檚 where the data and the informatics and the systems come in,鈥� said Lewis.
星空传媒 offers a PHIT concentration in the Health Sciences major and Information Technology major, as well as a PHIT minor and a PHIT certificate program. For more information on the program, contact Assistant Professor Carrie Boericke at carrie.boericke@duny.edu.