Prepped and Ready

By Patrick Bohn ’05, January 10, 2020

Ithaca College Public Health Initiatives receive national recognition for flu vaccine dispensing.

Rachel Balzano ’18, a staff member in the school of Humanities and Sciences, receives a flu shot at the college's clinic.

(Photo by: Ashley Bohn)

Mary Bentley, an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, isn’t trying to stoke any fears when she talks about disaster preparedness. But she’s also taking an honest assessment of what she sees.

“The number of disasters we’re seeing has gone up, and it’s important that we adapt,” she said.

Bentley and the students in her Community and Public Health course are on the front lines of that change. As part of the Ithaca College Public Health Initiatives, a collaboration between the college and the Tompkins County Health Department that began in 2013, the students receive public health responder training so they can assist in a campus public health emergency.

The students also receive online training that teaches skills like psychological first aid, which supports effective emergency responses by reducing the distress caused by traumatic events. Additionally, they assist with the college’s annual flu vaccination clinic, which serves hundreds of IC students, faculty and staff.

That particular initiative helped the county win a 2019 Model Practice Award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials. It was also selected as one of the top 10 “best of the best” model practices out of over 150 submissions. But the benefit is even greater for the Ithaca College community.

“What’s nice about receiving this award is that people who oversee community and public health see that what we’re doing is cutting edge.”

Mary Bentley, associate professor, department of Health Promotion and Physical Education

“A new trend in public health is disaster preparedness, and most people don’t have any kind of training in that,” said Bentley. “We’re providing students point of dispensing training, so in the event that there was a crisis on campus, and everyone needed to be administered a drug, we could do so quickly and in an organized fashion.”

The students also hear from experts in the field. Tompkins County public health preparedness coordinator Nina Saeli visits the class and presents on basic disaster preparedness, such as setting up a command center or helping to secure an area.

Several students have gone on to careers in the field. Emily Warfle ’16 is the emergency preparedness coordinator for Yates and Schuyler counties in New York, and said the experience was invaluable. “Learning about point of dispensing tactics and incident command was incredibly helpful,” she said. “I also loved getting to help with the flu clinic.”

For Bentley, the recognition from the National Association of County and City Health Officials is a testament to the important nature of the work her and the students are doing.

“What’s nice about receiving this award is that people who oversee community and public health see that what we’re doing is cutting edge,” she said.