Bowie State University was recently awarded $9,899,758 in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding to improve COVID-19 data collection and boost participation of underrepresented communities in the public health workforce through the Public Health Information and Technology (PHIT) Workforce program.
The nearly $10 million in funding is awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the American Rescue Plan.
According to a Bowie State University press release:
The university is one of 10 institutions forming a consortium to implement the Public Health Informatics & Technology (PHIT) Workforce Development Program funded by HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The project aims to recruit, secure paid internships and train diverse groups of individuals in public health informatics and technology to improve the nations’ public health workforce as identified in the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan. The goal is to strengthen IT health education and to expand the IT health curricula at Minority Servicing Institutions, improve COVID-19 data collection, and increase representation of underrepresented communities within the field throughout the U.S.
“Through this partnership, Bowie State University will be known as a leading player in public health,” said Gale Bassette, BSU Special Assistant to the Provost for Federal Contracts Administration. “We will play a major role in how this public health infrastructure will be delivered to the communities.”
Over the course of four years, the PHIT Workforce Development Program nationally will train at least 4,000 individuals through an interdisciplinary approach to create a continuous pipeline of diverse public health IT professionals.
