Thanks to a three million dollar federal grant, CSUB is able to hire two new faculty members and offer a Public Health Professionals program.
Todd McBride, Interim Dean of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering says Kern County Public Health has expressed a need for Public Health Trained students. To meet the overall need CSUB applied to the CSU Chancellor’s office to add a Public Health Professionals Bachelor’s degree, and was given permission.
“Public Health is more about preventative health, health education, educating the public on healthy practices, disease prevention, but when disease outbreaks do occur then tracking them and trying to contain them,” Todd McBride, Interim Dean for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at CSUB, said.
He says Public Health is more about treating populations, rather than treating individuals.
It’s a need that was there before COVID, but McBride says the pandemic shined a light on that need.
“There was a need before the pandemic. Kern County is one of the unhealthiest counties in the state, with high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, so the need for public health professionals has always been there,” McBride, said.
