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OPHA SECTIONS AND CAUCUSES

Ten or more OPHA members may petition the OPHA Board to form a Section to address a particular field or area of public health or to form a Caucus around a particular public health issue. Following board approval, Sections and Caucuses must elect officers, develop bylaws and hold at least one business meeting scheduled during the OPHA Annual Conference.  The chairperson of each Section and Caucus, is a voting member of the OPHA Board of Directors. 

Listed below are the current OPHA Sections and Caucus.  All members are urged to select a section or caucus that fits their area of work or interest and to participate in the selected section and caucus activities.

Learn more about OPHA Sections & Caucuses 


Membership in the American Public Health Association provides an opportunity for involvement in national sections and caucuses.




ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES                     

 Membership Includes:

      • Administrative Technicians

      • Administrative Officers

      • Administrative Assistants

      • Budget and Finance

      • Records Management

      • Auditors          

 Objectives include:

1. Providing leadership and assistance in the development and advancement of public health
2. Bringing  a spirit of unity to all staff
3. Elevating the standards for administrative support staff in the public health field.
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Contact the Community Health Workers Chair Kerstin Reinschmidt  for more information on meeting times and events.

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Membership Includes:

Community Health Workers

Community Health Outreach Worker

Enrollment Specialist

Peer Educator

Community Health Representatives

Community Liaison

Lay Health Advisor

Promotor/s

Community Health Advisors

Community Organizer

Public Health Aide

Businesses

Case Managers/Case Worker

Health Educator

Patient Navigator

Educational
Institutions

Community Health Advocate

Health Ambassador

Peer Counselor

Public and private agencies

Healthcare providers

Social service providers

Payers


Objectives Include:

Policy Development

  • Develop and support policies for the CHW workforce.
  • Share best practices and advance institutional, local, state, and national policies that support the CHW workforce.

Leadership

  • Ensure CHWs have a voice regarding their workforce development
  • Ensure CHWs have a voice at all levels of public health planning and decision-making tables to improve health outcomes in Oklahoma.

Membership Engagement

  • Recruit and retain CHWs and CHW allies as members of the section. This will occur through local and regional networks, health networks, academic networks, and tribal communities throughout Oklahoma.

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Contact the Emergency Preparedness & Response Chairs: Rebekah Doyle or Jackie Wright for more information on meeting times and events. 


EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE

Membership Includes:

      • Regional Planners

      • Regional Nurses

      • State/County Preparedness

      • Individuals (Annex H, Medical Reserve Corps, MMRS/RMRS, SNS Coordinators)

      • Volunteer Coordinators

      • Grant Developers

      • Emergency Management Staff

      • Medical Professionals

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This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 



ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH                      

 Membership includes:

      • Chemists
      • Sanitarians
      • Hydrologists
      • Engineers
      • Environmental specialists
      • Microbiologists
      • Entomologists
      • Ichthyologists
      • Geologists

 Objectives include:

 Helping officials become exposed to state-of-the-art information through:

      • Education

      • Peer interaction

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This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 



EPIDEMIOLOGY & LABORATORY

Membership includes:

      • Infectious and Chronic Disease Specialists

      • Physicians

      • Nurses

      • Epidemiologists 

      • Microbiologists

Objectives include:

    1. Promoting scientific knowledge and interaction through presentation of scientific studies

    2. Recognizing excellence in scientific inquiry and outstanding student scientists through awards.

This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 



This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 

GERONTOLOGICAL HEALTH

Membership includes:

      • Administrators

      • Nurses

      • Physicians

      • Social workers

      • Case managers

      • Aging specialists

      • Educators

      • Technical & support specialists

Objectives include:

    1. Promoting a positive understanding of the aging process
    2. Educating professionals and the public on aging related issues
    3. Providing programs on issues and trends
    4. Working to promote preventive health measures
    5. Aiding in the establishment of standards and guidelines for long-term care programs
    6. Initiating projects designed to improve the health of older adults, along with the entire population.
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HEALTH ADMINISTRATION & PLANNING

Membership includes:

  • Health administrators of public health agencies and other organizations

  • Chiefs, directors, and administrative program managers

  • Any others interested in health administration strategies pertinent to public health

Objectives include:

      1. Providing leadership and assistance in the development and promotion of public health administration

      2. Elevating the standards of administration on public health issues
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Contact the Public Health Education & Promotion Chairs Tracy Freudenthaler or Wendi Middleton or Vice-Chair Wendy Frankenburger for more information. 

Monthly meetings are held the 1st Friday of every month at 9am. Register to attend.

PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION & HEALTH PROMOTION

Membership includes:

Individuals working for public health education and health promotion within:

        • Communities

        • Schools

        • Health care facilities

        • Businesses

        • Public agencies

        • Private agencies

Objectives include: 

Providing information and training for updating skills and gaining knowledge about

      1. Current health problems

      2. Educational methods
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Contact the Maternal & Child Health Chair Kamisha Busby for more information on meeting times and events.

MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH

Membership includes:

        • Physicians

        • Administrators

        • Nurses

        • Social workers

        • Statisticians

        • Patient care assistants

        • Nurse practitioners

        • Technical specialists

        • Clerical staff

Objectives include:

      1. Providing a forum for an exchange of information and ideas to benefit the personal growth of individuals who deliver services.
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Contact the Oral Health Chair Shelley Mitchell for more information on meeting times and events.

ORAL HEALTH

Membership includes:

            • All dental health personnel

            • Others interested in the promotion and public health aspects of oral health

Goal: Promoting understanding, capability and action in oral health promotion and disease prevention

Objectives include:

      1. Educating the general public

      2. Presenting continuing education involving this rapidly evolving field

      3. Aiding the establishment of standards and guidelines

      4. Initiating projects designed for improving the health of the population

      5. Striving for the elimination of oral disease for all age groups
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Contact the Public Health Nursing Chairs Melissa Monroe or Susan Wegrzynski for more information on meeting times and events.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING

Public Health Nursing leading the way in building healthy communities, achieving health equity and social justice, and improving quality of life for all communities. 

The OPHA Nursing section provides an opportunity for the members to express their specific concerns about community health nursing as it related to total health care and allows persons with like interests to promote preventive health measures, and provide leadership in the development and promotion of Public Health education in the State of Oklahoma.   

Membership includes:

  • Nurses

  • Those interested in the nursing profession

Objectives include:

  1. Serving as a forum for expressing concerns about community health

  2. Working as a group to promote preventive health measures

  3. Providing programs of interest on current trends in nursing practice

  4. Collaborating with other sections of OPHA to bring about general public health objectives

Nursing By-Laws, adopted 04/07/2010
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This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact                 DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 


HEALTH EQUITY COMMITTEE

Membership includes:

    • OPHA members who are interested in promoting health equity for all and who designate the Health Equity Caucus as their choice.

Objectives include:

    1. Provide a mechanism of sharing of ideas and experiences among people engaged in supporting public health

    2. Provide an avenue for awareness for the Health Equity Campaign
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STUDENT CAUCUS

Membership in the Student Caucus for all students in higher education:

  • Undergraduate

  • Graduate

  • Doctoral

Student membership is only $25 per year.  You can apply to be a member here.



Why should students join OPHA?

      • Get recognition for your work! Present your research or internship/practicum experience through a poster at the annual conference.

      • Further your education through student scholarships and awards!

      • Professional development and leadership opportunities!

      • Learn about internships, fellowships and job opportunities in the field of public health!

      • Get Connected! Meet other students as well as professionals focusing on public health.

      • Be part of the solution! Influence policy change to help improve the health of all Oklahomans.

      • Discover various facets of public health and learn where your passions fit in.

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This Section has leadership vacancies. Please contact DJ McMaughan to volunteer or for more information. 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CAUCUS

Membership

Membership is open to members of OPHA who are interested in behavioral health topics, regardless of professional discipline or section membership.  

Objectives

    1. Promote a holistic view of behavioral health within the OPHA

    2. Advocate for and reduce stigma associated with behavioral health issues

    3. Promote behavioral health across the lifespan

    4. Promote behavioral health from primary prevention to recovery

    5. Prevent mental illness and promote mental health

    6. Emphasize education and the science of mental illness

    7. Encourage collaboration between agencies that address behavioral health

    8. Educate OPHA members about the link provided by behavioral health to other public health priorities

    9. Integrate health literacy into behavioral health interventions

    10. Emphasize consumer and end-user input into behavioral health interventions

    11. Activate and educate key stakeholders and the general public on the value of mental health, substance use and behavioral treatment in order to achieve wellness, recovery and productivity

    12. Act as a conduit for dissemination of timely information and a recognized contact for Oklahoma Public Health Association members

    13. Address new and emerging behavioral health issues
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Contact the Public Health Policy Chair McKenzie Cowlbeck or Mareyba Fawad for more information on meeting times and events.

PUBLIC POLICY COMMITEE



Advocacy Goal:

To encourage OPHA members to advocate for the promotion of public health policy and funding of public health practices that will have a positive impact on the health and safety of the citizens of Oklahoma and to advance those concerns within our own association, communities and with legislative bodies and policy makers at all levels.

  1. Assist in shaping OPHA’s public policy agenda by helping to identify and prioritize relevant public health issues. 

  2. Make recommendations on legislative priorities to the OPHA Board.

  3. Work with OPHA to build strategic relationships with public officials, nonprofit colleagues and other sectors. 

  4. Gather information relevant to the development and promotion of Public Policies, such as public opinion and stakeholder surveys, demographic trends, political and economic environment. 

  5. Assist in building grassroots support for positions. 

  6. Scan the environment for advocacy in order to identify factors conducive to, and factors inhibiting, achievement of the expected advocacy outcomes. 

  7. Identify different targets for advocacy initiatives.

  8. Develop strategies and operational plans for implementing advocacy.




Oklahoma Public Health Association
121 NE 52nd Street, Ste. 260
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-605-2099
opha@opha.net

The OPHA office is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, excluding state holidays.


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