CEHHS students help with public health needs in Detroit

Several College of Education, Health, and Human Services students spent their summer helping Detroit citizens lead healthier lives by doing internships at public health organizations—including Karly Koos at Healthy Detroit and Gadah Sharif at Authority Health, which was formerly known as Detroit Wayne County Health Authority.

Julie Roddy, chair of UM-Dearborn’s Department of Health and Human Services, said internships are important because they connect students to work experience—and, even more importantly, to the people.

Sharif, a junior majoring in health policy studies, got interested in the health field at a young age. Now works at a doctor's office and her desire to be by the side of those in need made her spent her summer as an intern at Authority Health.

“I love my job, but I felt a need to find out what’s going on in a patient’s life beyond the office setting", Sharif said.

During her internship, Sharif did a comparative community health needs assessment of Detroit-area hospitals and analyzed transportation and food needs of the people being served by Wayne County public health offices, local nonprofit organizations and more.

Koos, a senior majoring in public health, wants to improve health outcomes for Detroit residents too.

Through her internship with Healthy Detroit, she helped implement the Detroit Health Park initiative, did outreach to let residents know about Healthy Detroit Days and worked on the Healthy Detroit Passport app, which allows residents to track their participation in these events and gave them incentives to stay active.

“Interning with Healthy Detroit gave me a better idea of the big picture of public health than I would have gotten anywhere else in the country.", Koos said. 

View the full article in The Reporter