Baldwin Wallace University and The MetroHealth System are waiting for state approval of a new public -health degree collaboration. They have developed a masters program to train people to help close health disparities in low-income communities.
Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner Terry Allen says this type of training is important to help reverse the high rates of infant mortality and overall shorter life-spans in low-income communities. And he says closing such long-standing health gaps is also a regional economic issue.
“Businesses are going to be thinking long and hard about where they locate based on the health of the workforce. So we see health disparities as potentially as a concern folks take into consideration when they talk about cost ... to do business in the community.”
If the Ohio Department of Higher Education approves The MetroHealth System-Baldwin Wallace master of public health degree, the program could start this fall. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says public health jobs are expected to increase by 20 percent in the next decade.
