Workforce Matters: Investing in People, Impacting Communities

In this episode of This is Public Health, we’re diving into the future of Illinois’ public health workforce. Join us for a conversation with Kristin Rzeczkowski, Workforce Director at the Illinois Department of Public Health, and Molly Peters, Public Health Administrator at Greene/Scott County Health Department and co-chair of the Public Health Workforce Transformation project.

Kristin breaks down what workforce transformation really means and how it’s poised to improve health outcomes across the state. Molly shares her frontline perspective on what keeps people motivated in public health—and why investing in the workforce is an investment in every community’s well-being. Whether you're a public health professional or simply curious about how systems evolve to meet community needs, this episode highlights the people, passion, and planning behind the progress.

Jim Leach: Welcome to This is Public Health, a podcast from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Still in the middle of our 30 Days of Public Health observance, a celebration of public health and the people who work day in and day out to protect and improve the health of Illinoisans.

Jim Leach: Well, developing that workforce to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow has been a top priority for IDPH and for our partners at local health departments across Illinois. In this episode we're focusing on this effort: the Illinois Public Health Workforce Transformation Initiative. And our guests are Kristin Rzeczkowski, Workforce Director for IDPH, and one of those local partners, Molly Peters, President of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators. She serves as public health administrator for the Greene and Scott County Health Department. And thank you both for being here.

Jim Leach: Kristin, I want to start with you to get a basic overview. What do we mean when we talk about a public health workforce transformation?

Kristin Rzeczkowski: Thank you, Jim. By transformation, we mean intentional, statewide investment in the governmental public health system. And we're coming together as a system to address infrastructure needs, service delivery performance, and building trust among partners and those we serve.

Jim Leach: So talk about the goals of this initiative and what will it mean for the people of Illinois and for the people in the local health departments that are served in those counties.

Kristin Rzeczkowski: Sure, so there are actually many things we could focus on, and we've spent the last year assessing and identifying those needs. But over just the past few months, we've come together to prioritize our goals and have agreed upon a plan of action. And as we know in times of limited resources, that we need to optimize the resources we do have and lean on partnership. And one of the goals is to work together to identify specific ways that state and local health departments can partner more effectively. We also want to better understand the resources and capacity of our system in real time and we intend to improve the data collection that tells that story. And then finally, we're looking at how we define public health and how we might consider updating that definition.

Jim Leach: We'll delve more deeply into many of these points. As noted, this is a partnership with local health departments across the state. we'd like to now bring in Molly Peters, Public Health Administrator for the Greene and Scott County Health Department and co-chair of this initiative. So Molly, what does transformation mean for you and for your department's ability to serve the residents of Greene and Scott counties?

Molly Peters: I think transformation just means that, you know, we're coming together, we're identifying our problems that are current, and then continuing to adapt and change based on our needs. We've spent a lot of time working with IDPH and we have a lot of long term administrators, and we even have a lot of new administrators, so continuing to be efficient and look for return on investment. Continue to adapt and be resourceful is something that you know public health officials are really, really good at. And we continue to connect and do community-based work that focuses on our individual communities.

Molly Peters: But while we do that we need partnership, we need IDPH. We need support in place to really connect all the dots and data. So transformation just is a continuation of what we do and making it better.

Jim Leach: You know, our Director, Dr. Vohra, often talks about public health as this invisible shield. People don't even necessarily realize the public health apparatus is there because it’s working the way that it should. But for the residents in your county, what might they see as a result of this initiative and what are you hoping to see in terms of your ability to provide those services and how those services benefit those residents?

Molly Peters: I think what they see is just a more robust system of being able to provide data, being able to answer any needs that come up, being reliable, trustworthy in general of our community. Greene and Scott County know that our health department is strong. Our staff are knowledgeable, and we do the work in our community that there isn't other resources in our community to do. Our health department is really secure in in our community and continuing to transform means that we will continue to exist. we are prepared to adapt, we are prepared to continue on and I think that our community knows that about us.

Jim Leach: Kristin, one of the things that's been happening as part of this process is what's called a cost and capacity assessment - measuring what is needed to meet public health challenges, and then what resources are available to fill those needs. Talk about that process and where we are in it right now.

Kristin Rzeczkowski: Yes, so last year, the state and local health departments completed what is referred to as a “trafficking cost assessment,” with the help of the UIC School of Public Health and the University of Minnesota in order to assess the current implementation of the foundational public health services and quantify the resources that we would need to fully implement those services across the state. We should be receiving the final reports any day now, and we'll use those results to better understand how we can begin addressing gaps across the state.

Jim Leach: We do want to follow up on that when more of that data comes in, especially because we’re in a challenging time right now. Lots of changes recently at the federal level impacting public health programs.

Jim Leach: So, what does that mean in terms of this process, and I guess in the bigger picture, in terms of the desirability of pursuing a career in public health as we’re developing this public health workforce for the future? What are those workers going to be facing in this climate?

Kristin Rzeczkowski: Yeah, public health workers are tough and resilient, and the last few years, not to mention just the last few months, have been really tough. At IDPH we've been continuing our work to build pipelines to careers in public health and support that next generation even in an unpredictable environment such as the one as we see now. We’ve been investing in internship programs with our university partners. We’re trying to work more closely with our local health departments to fill those gaps.

Kristin Rzeczkowski: And even before the recent changes, unfortunately at the federal level, public health was already seeing large numbers of staff retiring and/or leaving their organization. So we do need to do more to retain our current staff, but also attract new people into careers in public health. And that's what a lot of the work of the Public Health Infrastructure Grant is focused on.

Jim Leach: You’re listening to This is Public Health with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Our guests Kristin Rzeczkowski, Workforce Director for IDPH and Molly Peters, President of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators. She serves as public health administrator for the Greene and Scott County Health Department.

Jim Leach: Molly, back to you. For residents of your county, and really, counties like it all across Illinois, what’s your message to them? Why should they consider a career in public health?

Molly Peters: I think there’s a deep understanding of community when we’re talking about public health professionals. This deep want of making a difference, making an impact, working on community needs. I’ve seen it in my grandpa’s volunteerism, you know, and really assisting the community and I think that's a deep passion for people. When I was going to school at SIUE, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, I sat in my public health course and got chills based on the information that was being shared about safe food, safe water. And I said, “This is exactly what I'm supposed to do. This is exactly what my passion is.”

Molly Peters: And I think that, you know, the changes in administration, the changes that go on continually only drive the passion for people to apply to do this work. And I'm not worried about the future of public health and finding passionate professionals, because we are there and they will continue to rise as there is need. And I look forward to seeing the changes that come as new professionals come in.

Jim Leach: For each of you, I'd like you both to weigh in on this: As far as the next steps in this transformation process, where do we go from here? Kristin, I’d like to start with you.

Kristin Rzeczkowski: So, I think we do have some very clear next steps. State and local staff are coming together over the next few months to work out some specifics for our strategic agenda. And we’ll come back in the fall to finalize that agenda and create an implementation plan to implement those recommendations. And I really look forward to it.

Jim Leach: And Molly, from your perspective, important next steps and where is this all headed?

Molly Peters: Yesterday I participated in a leadership training or development, it's called the Leadership Institute, it was partnered by IDPH. Continuing to develop leadership within IDPH and with local health departments as participants, developing those partnerships. It was great to be in the room to see all the connections and all the different people and pieces to public health – it's big. And we need to continue to connect and I think we’re doing a good job at developing that. So I look forward to seeing the partnerships within IDPH and locals continue on and grow.

Jim Leach: One last question if I may, and Molly you made what I thought was a very profound point about the passion people have for this. And it is exciting to realize this is meaningful work, it has a real positive bearing on people's lives. For people who are listening to this and thinking, “this is something I want to pursue,” where's a good place to start? Where should they go to begin that process of entering into a career in public health?

Molly Peters: Well, I did a lot of volunteering, shadowing is a good option. You can find out, I’m sure most local health departments would allow any, you know, person that is interested in a career in to see if this is something that they're interested in. Generally, there’s so many different public health type organizations again seeking those and looking for opportunities. I went to SIUE and took a class because I thought I was interested, and it really just developed that further. You can also get involved in other organizations, Illinois Environmental Health Association accepts students to participate. This gives you a picture of what legislation is like, what work is being done in the environmental health level. And getting involved in organizations or groups like that is a good opportunity.

Jim Leach: Lots of paths into careers in public health, and of course we'll be talking more about this as this transformation process continues. In the meantime we want to thank our guests Kristin Rzeczkowski, Workforce Director for IDPH and Molly Peters, who is again President of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators and the PHA for the Greene and Scott County Health Department.

Jim Leach: Thank you both for being here and thanks everyone for joining us. Please be here with us next time for another edition of This is Public Health with the Illinois Department of Public Health.