杏吧原版

Anthony J. Santella, DrPH, MCHES, was developing curricula, creating syllabi, preparing to start in August as a professor in the University of New Haven杏吧原版檚 Department of Health Administration and Policy, and as the director of the University杏吧原版檚 new Doctor of Health Sciences program.

Then he got a call from Mario Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D., interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, asking him if he would take on the role as the University杏吧原版檚 COVID-19 Coordinator.

His answer was an emphatic yes. His official start date was July 1, but even before that he was jumping right in.

杏吧原版淚 take the responsibility of being the University杏吧原版檚 COVID coordinator very seriously,杏吧原版� says Santella, who has worked for 20 years in infectious disease prevention and control with a focus on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

杏吧原版楢 24/7 operation杏吧原版�

He is excited to continue the work of outgoing coordinator and former School of Health Sciences Dean Summer McGee, Ph.D., CPH, who was named president of in North Carolina, and to collaborate with his COVID Task Force co-chair Ron Quagliani 杏吧原版�93, 杏吧原版�05 M.S., 杏吧原版�14 M.S., associate vice president of public safety and administrative services, and the University-wide Task Force.

杏吧原版淭here杏吧原版檚 probably no better way to get to know all of your new colleagues than to take on such a public and visible role,杏吧原版� he says. 杏吧原版淲ithin 48 hours, I got to meet everyone in human resources, communications, athletics, and the music department. The Task Force has representation from across the University and it杏吧原版檚 a 24/7 operation.杏吧原版�

He promised the Task Force that he would use his commitment to and expertise in public health and policy, his deep understanding of the scientific process and the use of data, and emerging best practices to guide all decisions.

杏吧原版淲e are working now to see what the fall will look like on campus based not only on data coming out on the local and state level, but also on the data of our stakeholders,杏吧原版� he says. 杏吧原版淗ow many of our faculty, staff, and students are vaccinated? How many students are applying for exemptions? We will also rely on the , , the , and other professional groups to guide our thinking.杏吧原版�

杏吧原版業 will find creative ways to involve students in all of my work杏吧原版�

While navigating the complexities of the COVID response, he will also welcome the first cohort of the University杏吧原版檚 second doctoral program, an online Doctor of Health Sciences. 杏吧原版淭hey are a standout group of practitioners, administrators, and clinicians who will pursue either the educational leadership or healthcare leadership tracks of the program,杏吧原版� he says.

And he will be teaching and continuing his research, practice, and advocacy. Within days of his arrival, Dr. Santella was applying for grant funding for a vaccine hesitancy peer education program that will involve University students. He will continue work on a project with the , interviewing chronically ill people who are experiencing homelessness and analyzing data 杏吧原版渨ith the goal of piloting programs to improve their experience.杏吧原版�

He is also reaching out to stakeholders in Connecticut who work in areas of HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+ health, homelessness, and incarceration for future research and advocacy projects. 杏吧原版淚 will find creative ways to involve University of New Haven students in all of my work,杏吧原版� he says.

杏吧原版楢 public health case study that came to life杏吧原版�

It was in the second semester of his senior year at , when he was majoring in biomedical sciences, that Dr. Santella was drawn to public health. Courses in community health and healthcare administration led to a 杏吧原版渓ight bulb moment. I thought 杏吧原版榯his is what public health is: It杏吧原版檚 science. It杏吧原版檚 helping people. It杏吧原版檚 advocating for historically forgotten populations,杏吧原版櫺影稍鏉 he says. 杏吧原版淚t was what I wanted to do.杏吧原版�

He worked in pharmaceutical marketing after graduating 杏吧原版渂ut it wasn杏吧原版檛 my calling. I needed to find the path to public health.杏吧原版� Within weeks of starting a master杏吧原版檚 program in public health at , he found a job as a health educator at an infectious disease clinic, recruiting gay and bisexual men to take part in HIV vaccine trials.

He went on to get his Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at and, within six months of arriving, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. 杏吧原版淭hat showed me all the good and bad about our healthcare system and public health,杏吧原版� he says. 杏吧原版淣ew Orleans is a city of great wealth and extreme poverty. When I returned to my apartment, I saw who was coming back to the city, who wasn杏吧原版檛, and who was trapped in the Superdome area for months because there weren杏吧原版檛 enough resources to help people. It was a public health case study that came to life.杏吧原版�

杏吧原版業杏吧原版檓 so happy to be here杏吧原版�

After receiving his doctorate Dr. Santella was hired by the as the director of policy, planning, and implementation for the HIV care, treatment, and housing program. 杏吧原版淚 knew our team had a profound impact ensuring people with HIV or at risk for HIV got the care and treatment they deserved,杏吧原版� he says. 杏吧原版淭hey say healthcare is a human right, and that is so meaningful in our profession. Not everyone has that.杏吧原版�

While he loved the advocacy and practice, he didn杏吧原版檛 like the bureaucracy and thought academia would be a better fit. His career as a professor has taken him to , the and, most recently, to . His HIV research, meanwhile, has taken him to India, China, Kenya, the U.K., and Vietnam.

Coming to the University of New Haven represents a kind of homecoming for Dr. Santella, who grew up in Norwalk, the son of two immigrants from Italy. He looks forward to having his extended family close by, to rediscovering the state on morning runs and on walks with his partner and their rescue dog, Coco, and to the breadth and scope of the work he will do at the University.

杏吧原版淚f I was going to make a change, it really had to be worthwhile for my family,杏吧原版� he says. 杏吧原版淭he University is investing in the School of Health Sciences, and they care very much about the safety and well-being of the entire University community and our neighbors. Those were things I felt when I was interviewing and when I was hired. Now I杏吧原版檓 seeing it firsthand. I杏吧原版檓 so happy to be here.杏吧原版�