Staff from South Dakota State University's Population Health Assessment Center gathered with representatives from the South Dakota Department of Health after the center was selected as a 2023 Distinguished Health Partner for its advocacy efforts.
South Dakota State University's Center for Population Health Assessment has been recognized as a 2023 Outstanding Health Partner by the South Dakota Department of Health.
South Dakota Health Secretary Melissa Magstadt recognized the on-campus service center and its staff in March. This award recognizes an outstanding community partner who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the department's work at the community level.
The Center for Population Health Assessment is a service center within SDSU's College of Nursing. The center partners with clients to enhance services provided in public health, human services, and/or education in communities across South Dakota.
Specializing in providing program evaluation and evaluation services, the center collects and collects data to help organizations understand the impact of their operations, improve service quality, and realize new opportunities to expand service reach. Interpret. Many of its projects focus on efforts to improve the health and quality of life of rural communities in the Midwest.
Magstadt said the South Dakota Department of Health relies on its partners to serve the state's more than 900,000 residents with a common goal of better, healthier communities. Nominators criticized the Center for Population Health Assessment as integral to its work.
“I don't just give this award to the SDSU Center for Population Health Evaluation, but to inspire your vision, the data, and the rest of us to do the work and implement programs that show results that are meaningful and help us improve. We also want you to know that there is a special person who has had a huge impact on us, and she was named by two different people. '' she said.
Magstadt highlighted the work of Beth Walstrom, a Rapid City-based SDSU population health assessment specialist. Through the Center for Population Health Evaluation, Walstrom provides program evaluation services for a variety of programs within and outside SDSU. She currently participates in evaluation activities for federally funded projects within the College of Nursing and leads program evaluations for SDDOH's Healthy Relationships Program.
“I would like to thank everyone for their efforts,” Magstadt said. “Thank you for the joy you bring to your job. …Thank you for making the jobs of South Dakota Department of Health employees just a little bit easier.”
In her letter of recommendation, Sarah Barclay, SDDOH's Healthy Relationships Coordinator, cited Walstrom's outstanding work in helping the department better align its resources and improve individual programs and collective efforts. He praised the work he did.
Hope Kleine, SDDOH's Family Planning Program Director, also tapped Walstrom to develop and conduct her customer satisfaction surveys, and after a major shift in work, ultimately translated the data into easy-to-understand and useful reports. He has achieved great achievements such as presenting
SDSU College of Nursing Dean Mary Ann Krog praised the partnership between the two organizations.
“We are pleased to recognize the strong collaboration between the South Dakota Department of Health and the SDSU Center for Population Health Assessment through this award, which is a testament to the efforts of our teams to improve the health of South Dakotans.” said.
Jennifer Kerkvliet, director of the Center for Population Health Evaluation, said the award is a great honor. Since founding the center in 2018, staff have helped organizations across the state use data more effectively to improve the effectiveness and quality of their programs. The Center for Population Health Assessment currently has three part-time staff, nine full-time staff, and six undergraduate staff.
“This award is a great honor as it recognizes the partnerships that have been built over the past several years. We're fortunate to be able to collect data that informs us about the types of programs that exist,” Kerkvliet said. “Beth is a great staff member and agrees with everything she is told. Not only is she great at her job, she is adaptable and good at keeping a positive attitude no matter the situation, which is… You can see it in everything she does.”
Walstrom, who has worked at the Population Health Assessment Center for the past five years, said her favorite part of her job is the people she works with, both at the Population Health Assessment Center and its partners. “Thank you very much for your kind words. It was a great pleasure to share this celebration with the entire Population Health Assessment Center group and partners. It is wonderful for our group to be recognized. We are very fortunate to have partners who share the same passion for the programs we are working on.”
