My name is Mia Stufflebeam and I received my MPH from UAlbany in May 2019. As a student, I interned at the Schenectady County Public Health Services.
The internship provided me with an opportunity to participate in hands-on community-based public health through the Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities Grant. I worked directly in the community with participants of the Schenectady Baby Café, which provides free drop in breastfeeding support to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers within a comfortable, nonjudgmental environment.
I was also introduced to the advantages and nuances of going through Public Health Accreditation. I learned more in-depth about the importance of performance management as it relates to tracking public health indicators and how to organize a system to complete quality improvement projects. Because of the experience I gained in community based work, Public Health Accreditation, performance management and quality improvement, I am now a well-rounded public health practitioner.
This internship truly brought all the pieces of my education together in a tangible way.
I was an involved and valued member at the Schenectady Health Department, and I could not be more grateful for this experience and to have received PHLOT funding.
