Center for Education and Public Initiatives (CEPI)

In January 2011, a new center was formed that combines the many educational and public health initiatives at the College. It is anticipated that the many areas of overlap between all these programs will result in exciting new collaborations between CEPI staff members.

Precarious Philadelphia

CEPI has begun an interdisciplinary series of projects under the umbrella title, Precarious Philadelphia. These projects are designed to draw attention to the multiple challenges faced by youth in the City of Philadelphia. We plan to explore issues such as gun violence, STI’s, low vaccination rates, and the challenges of living in urban environments. Current projects include:

Hip2Know
A project to raise awareness of sexually transmitted infection rates in youth and to promote the personal and community benefits of getting tested. Funded by the Barra Foundation.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Summer Internship
Stories make us laugh and cry. They make us think. They make our lives richer and more meaningful. But can stories help us teach and learn about the health and social issues that impact our communities? High school students from the School District of Philadelphia will answer that question during the summer of 2012. By telling their stories using audio, images, video and more, they will have the opportunity to educate their peers about important health and social issues like STDs, violence, and the state of our neighborhoods.Click here for the full application. Funded by Teva Pharmaceuticals.

During the summer of 2011, ten high school students from the School District of Philadelphia worked with College staff to create online health content targeted to their peers. Participants choose health topics related to the College's world-famous Mütter Museum and Library collections and delivered the information in their own creative ways.  To see their work, check out WhatstheMutter.org, a new site that unites the College’s youth education and health literacy programming.

Utterly Precarious
Artist Carolee Schneemann will visit Philadelphia during the week of April 23, 2012. During this time she will visit the College and engage with the collections of the Mütter Museum and the Historical Medical Library. In addition, she will work with students, and give a public lecture in Mitchell Hall on April 24th at 6.30pm. Her visit to the City is entitled Utterly Precarious: Carolee Schneemann in 5 Parts, and is a collaboration between the College, The University of Pennsylvania, Slought Foundation and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Unleash the Power of Data

Newly liberated health data has led to a stunning array of health applications built by innovators across the nation. Could this "ecosystem" of data and innovators quickly and cheaply improve the health of Americans? On February 25th, Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, spoke at the College on this topic and more. Watch the video below. His full presentation is here. And here's the link to the HHS data warehouse.

 

The following programs fall under CEPI:

Museum Education and Mütter Lessons

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Mütter Museum is dedicated to improving the health of the public through its education programs, services and resources. In addition to offering standard museum tours, the museum has developed seven classes called Mütter Lessons to further enhance your class's museum experience.

The Karabots Junior Fellows Program

The Karabots Junior Fellows Program aims to use the resources of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia to provide practical assistance, mentoring, and academic and social support to a select group of Philadelphia high school students from communities under-represented in current healthcare professions.

Consumer Health Articles

The College provides access to trustworthy consumer health information and local resources in the Delaware Valley, including lists of low-cost health clinics and farmers' markets in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The History of Vaccines website

The College created The History of Vaccines to provide a living, changing chronicle of the compelling history of vaccination, from pre-Jennerian variolation practices, to the defeat of polio in the Western Hemisphere, to cutting-edge approaches to novel vaccines and vaccine delivery. The site aims to increase public knowledge and understanding of the ways in which vaccines, toxoids, and passive immunization work, how they have been developed, and the role they have played in the improvement of human health.

Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)

As part of the city’s Get Healthy Philly campaign, the College received funding to create an Employer Wellness Program to promote wellness in the workplace. As part of this initiative, the College has conducted a survey of Philadelphia businesses, convened a Business Wellness Council and developed worksite wellness resources to encourage employers to bring more wellness initiatives onsite. For more information, please visit HealthyToWork.org or follow us on Twitter.

If the Mütter Museum provided a private place for you to breastfeed, would you?
Take our Breastfeeding Survey to let us know your thoughts on this important matter.

Section on Public Health

The College's Section on Public Health creates a forum for deliberation of relevant issues in public health, and provides information for the development of health policy.