State Public Health Commissioner Speaks to SHU Students

Manisha Juthani led state’s department of public health through second year of pandemic

Sacred Heart University students learned about the role public health agencies play in the state and country when Connecticut’s Department of Public Health (DPH) commissioner, Manisha Juthani, spoke recently at the College of Health Professions.

Tom St. Louis, the state’s director of public health workforce development, joined Juthani at SHU to discuss Connecticut’s health initiatives and the important work being done by public health professionals. They encouraged SHU’s public health students to speak truthfully about health care issues, no matter the public reception.

After their presentation, the two speakers answered students’ questions on a range of topics, including strategies for increasing the state’s public health workforce, equitable health care resources for school-age children and how to explain ever-changing science to an audience that wants consistent answers.

Juthani was instrumental in leading the DPH through the second year of the pandemic, charting Connecticut’s course for living with COVID-19. She also guided Yale University through its response to the pandemic. “We needed experts in the field when no one was an expert,” said Juthani, who consistently spoke to the press during the pandemic and continues to speak publicly about matters concerning health.

The public health field is invaluable to promoting healthy communities, said St. Louis. “Public health is the secret service of health care. When it’s done right, no one notices it,” he said.

Recently, the College of Health Professions received a $1.5 million Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration grant to provide scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing public health.

Visit SHU’s public health webpage to learn more.