Upstate Medical University’s Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and its chair, Christopher P. Morley, PhD, have been honored with an award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Health in New York State.

The award comes from the four different organizations: The New York State Public Health Association, New York State Association of County Health Officials, the New York State Association for Rural Health and the New York State Conference on Environmental Health Directors.

Upstate’s Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine was honored for its quick work in monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, interpreting, mapping and communicating the pandemic data in ‘real time’ to county, state and SUNY officials, to health care providers and to the public.

The department also built statistical models that predict timelines for the spread, growth and decline of the virus and developed and disseminated COVID policies and procedures for institutional use. This work continues today. The department’s work has helped to elevate the public’s understanding and appreciation of the role Public Health has played in disease prevention and population health. The award was accepted by Morley, on behalf of the department.

“I am very proud of our department,” said Morley. “In March of 2020, we pivoted both our Master’s program and the entire department to remote learning and work, almost overnight. Of course, most organizations had to do the same, but we managed to keep our educational standards high, while serving Upstate, the Central New York community, and a wide range of organizations and constituencies with information, pandemic monitoring and prediction, mitigation advice, and communication strategies, and keeping our daily operations functioning. The team truly showed up, and I can’t say enough about them.”

Upstate’s Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine educates public health, medical and other graduate students, and conducts research in the broad disciplines of public health, preventive medicine, health promotion, and health services.

The department’s Center for Research and Evaluation provides design, methodological, analytic, and biostatistical consultation to faculty and researchers. Additionally, the department’s fully accredited Masters of Public Health Program provides students with a population-based perspective and prepares them to investigate and manage public health problems.

Members of the department also conduct research on a variety of topics related to public health, including firearm violence, health disparities, maternal/child health, healthcare practice improvement and policy, gerontology, medical education, tobacco control, cancer prevention, and a variety of other areas, in addition to studying an array of issues related to COVID-19.

The award was presented during the 2022 Public Health Partnership Conference, held in Niagara Falls in April.

 

Caption: Christopher P. Morley, PhD, fourth from left, among the winners of awards for outstanding leadership presented by various public health associations across the state.