UTSA to host public health jobs panel on April 3

APRIL 2, 2024 — To celebrate National Public Health Week, the UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy (HCAP) will present an interactive public health panel discussion beginning at noon on Wednesday, April 3, at the Student Union Retama Auditorium (SU 2.02.02). The event is free and open to the public.

Presented in partnership with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health), the panel will discuss the importance of public health departments across the nation and how the current job market is impacting those departments in Texas.

Additionally, the panelists will explore how San Antonio measures up and provide guidance to students who want to enter this bolstering industry.

“This opportunity will provide valuable insight, especially to students who are interested in building public health careers.”

Theresa De La Haya

Wednesday’s event is HCAP’s annual Guerra lecture, which honors the memory and work of Metro Health’s former director Dr. Fernando A. Guerra, a distinguished leader in public health and medicine who diligently worked to improve the public health system and help people across the country. The theme of this year’s lecture is, “Public Health Journeys: Empowering Communities, Changing Lives.”

The Guerra lecture is one of several events taking place at UTSA as part of National Public Health Week, which will run from Monday, April 1, through Sunday, April 7. Each year, UTSA uses the week to schedule a slate of events to educate, inform and help students find health-related careers.

Theresa De La Haya (Ret.), senior vice president of community health/clinical presentative programs at University Health System, will serve as moderator for the panel discussion.

The panel will feature Brian Castrucci, president and chief executive officer of the de Beaumont Foundation; Dr. Lyssa Ochoa, vascular surgeon and founder of the San Antonio Vascular and Endovascular Clinic and Phil Beckett, chief executive officer of C3HIE.

Brian Castrucci

All three organizations aim to make health care work better for San Antonio and its citizens. The de Beaumont Foundation advances policy and builds partnerships to create communities where people can achieve their best possible health by investing in solutions to strengthen public health.

Lyssa Ochoa

The San Antonio Vascular and Endovascular Clinic works with primary care physicians, specialists and community resources to create individualized treatment plans for patients. C3HIE offers value-based, patient-centered information services intended to improve the health status of individuals and the communities it serves.

The panel is part of HCAP’s Dean’s Community Lecture Series, which features distinguished community members to engage faculty, staff, students and the public in recognizing and addressing society’s grand challenges.

Phil Beckett

“We are so honored to have Drs. Beckett, Castrucci and Ochoa speak to our students, faculty, staff and community about the importance of empowering communities to improve public health and to honor Dr. Guerra’s legacy to San Antonio. The Dean’s Community Lecture Series is our flagship community-facing event, and we are pleased to partner with Metro Health in offering it during Public Health Week,” said Lynne Cossman, dean of HCAP. “This opportunity will provide valuable insight, especially to students who are interested in building public health careers.”

UTSA has long been preparing students for public health jobs, and since HCAP’s inception in 2020 has created several degree programs specific to develop public health leaders, including the M.S. in health, community and policy and the B.S. in health, aging and society. These degrees are ideal for students who have a strong desire to serve the community through programs that emphasize health at the individual level, as well as the community and population level.

— Amanda Cerreto