Public Health Partnerships

Partnering with local communities to improve health

The Center for Public Health Practice works in partnership with community residents and organizations throughout Indiana to improve health by tackling barriers to health.

Academic health department

The Marion County Public Health Department is an officially designated academic public health department. Marion County’s partnership with the Fairbanks School of Public Health strengthens the links between public health practice and academia, enabling the practice and academic communities to work together to develop the current and future public health workforce, build the evidence base for public health, and better deliver the essential public health services.

Connecting with communities to transform health

The Diabetes Impact Project – Indianapolis Neighborhoods is an initiative to reduce the burden of diabetes in three Indianapolis neighborhoods. It is having a significant impact in reducing blood-sugar levels and actively engaging the community to solve root problems of the disease.

Learn more about DIP-IN

See how DIP-IN is transforming
three Indianapolis communities

K-12 school health liaison team

Over one million students attend K-12 schools in Indiana, and 16% of them attend school in Marion County. Healthier students learn better and have stronger academic success, which leads to better health outcomes and greater achievements both inside and outside of the classroom.

The role of our school health liaison team in partnership with the Marion County Public Health Department School Health Indy program is to assist all public, private and charter schools in Marion County in providing access to basic services such as hearing, vision and dental screenings.

In addition, the program provides programming for school staff and students on topics and services such as Stop the Bleed, CPR/AED, Narcan, Catch My Breath, and immunization clinics.

Putting the health of Indiana communities first

The COVID-19 pandemic sounded the alarm for public health. Across statewide and local collaborations, the Fairbanks School and Center for Public Health Practice managed multiple projects to protect the health of Hoosiers.

Statewide COVID-19 Prevalence Study

The Fairbanks School, in partnership with the Indiana Department of Health, led a scientific study to measure the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state. This study influenced local, state and national guidance and established groundbreaking scientific advancements in our knowledge of the novel coronavirus.

Learn more about the study

Marion County Contact Tracing

The Fairbanks School, in collaboration with the Marion County Public Health Department, managed over 200 contact tracers to track the spread of COVID-19 for all of Marion County.

Learn more about contact tracing

Public health infrastructure grant

The Public Health Infrastructure Grant is a groundbreaking investment that supports critical public health infrastructure needs of health departments across the United States.

cartoon drawing of city's infrastructure

The Marion County Public Health Department in Indianapolis is the recipient of funds from this grant and has contracted with the Fairbanks School of Public Health to evaluate their project and manage the process to offer the Certified in Public Health exam to their eligible staff.

Funding from this grant will help ensure that every U.S. community has the people, services, and systems needed to promote and protect health. The grant creates a foundation for CDC’s public health infrastructure work and provides maximum flexibility so recipients can address their most pressing needs.

Have questions about this grant? Contact Shandy Dearth for more information.

Organizational partnerships

The Center for Public Health Practice is connected locally and nationally with other public health professionals. We can use our network to connect you with the researchers, practitioners and organizations that are reducing barriers to health.