CAMPUS INITIATIVES RECEIVE COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING 

April 2023

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow visited University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in February for an update on two initiatives that received Community Project Funding in the federal budget approved by Congress last year.

 The projects that received funding provide training for students obtaining a rural public health certificate and support students from underrepresented backgrounds in pursuing education in injury and violence prevention. Both are collaborations between the CU School of Medicine and the Colorado School of Public Health. 

“We see things that have amazing growth potential and that can punch way above their weight if they just get that initial seed money,” said Crow in a meeting with Dean John Reilly Jr., MD, program leaders and staff, and students participating in the programs.

 “When the university came to me with these two in particular,” Crow said, “I knew right away that they had that potential not to just provide direct service to folks, but also serve as a model. That’s the other thing I look for in my grant requests, is what are things that can be pilots or models that can be scaled or replicated in other parts of the country.” 

Mark Deutchman, MD, associate dean for rural health at the School of Medicine, and Danielle Brittain, PhD, associate dean for academic and student affairs at the Colorado School of Public Health, made a presentation about the rural public health certificate program. 

That program, which received $783,580 to develop a curriculum that allows medical students to obtain a public health certificate during their years in medical school, helps future rural physicians prepare for larger community health needs. 

Ashley Brooks-Russell, PhD, MPH, associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health and director of the Injury and Violence Prevention Center, and Emmy Betz, MD, MPH, professor of emergency medicine and deputy director of the center, discussed their program.