APHA-Kaiser fellows improving public health
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* Mark Barna

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/53/10/4/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/53/10/4/F1)

The APHA-Kaiser Permanente fellows for 2022-2023 took part in community public health projects across the country.

Photo courtesy EZ Event Photography

> “Our fellows and scholars are a testament to the need for diverse voices in the realm of public health, and the program is honored to be a part of uplifting and supporting them toward careers as future public health leaders.”
> 
> — Eileen Lavelle

A dozen young public health professionals are making a difference in local health in communities across the U.S., thanks to an APHA program.

Launched in 2021, the APHA-Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellowship Program supports development among a diverse group of public health leaders committed to improving the health of vulnerable communities and achieving health equity for all. The program is geared toward first-generation college graduates, people of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Our fellows and scholars are a testament to the need for diverse voices in the realm of public health, and the program is honored to be a part of uplifting and supporting them toward careers as future public health leaders,” Eileen Lavelle, MA, APHA’s fellowship program manager, told *The Nation’s Health*.

Fellows support and lead projects, programs and partnerships to address upstream determinants of health across Kaiser Permanente-served communities.

First-generation college student Maria Dizon led one of the projects this year. She was placed at the Hawaii Public Health Institute in Honolulu, working to tighten state regulations on marketing flavored tobacco products.

E-cigarette use has risen among young people across the U.S. in recent years, including in Hawaii. Aggressive marketing tactics are helping to lure users in, noted Dizon, who discussed her work at APHA’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo in November. For example, the industry has introduced “island” flavors for e-cigarettes, which make the products more appealing to young Hawaiians, she said. The tobacco industry is also adept at fighting and delaying regulatory policies.

In May, a committee in the Hawaii State Legislature agreed to regulate and tax vaping devices and liquids the same way as other tobacco products. Meanwhile, Dizon has continued to push for passage of a state bill that would end the sale of flavored tobacco products in Hawaii.

Jessica Tran, who worked at Grady Health System in Atlanta during her fellowship, also experienced success. Tran worked to develop a health process that screened patients on social determinants of health, which helped identify possible barriers to their care. The health system used the findings to offer reliable transportation to medical visits and a text message campaign to remind patients of on-site enrollment assistance in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Over 3,000 patients received help through the program.

The efforts of another fellow, Melissa Wenceslao, MPH, who worked at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, also benefited patients in need. Wenceslao was part of the strategy to help people who use Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid health insurance program, keep their coverage.

Medi-Cal enrollment increased by over 700,000 patients in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But with the end of the federal emergency declaration this year, automatic continuous coverage also ended.

Wenceslao and colleagues worked on communication and outreach strategies, focusing on communities with highest needs. They relied on partners who had community connections as well as Kaiser Permanente’s business branch.

“It is important to keep people enrolled in health coverage to help close equity gaps in California (and) improve access to care for some of the state’s most vulnerable populations,” Wenceslao said.

APHA-Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellowship participants receive mentorship, professional development, coaching and workforce training. Each of the 12 fellows in the 2022-2023 class received a $120,000 stipend for program, which ran September to August.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 APHA-Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fellowship scholarship. For more information, visit [bit.ly/APHAKaiserFellowship](https://www.apha.org/Professional-Development/APHA-Internships-and-Fellowships/APHA-KP-Leadership-Program/APHA-KP-Community-Health-Fellowship).

*A version of this story was published on APHA’s Annual Meeting Blog.*

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association