Institute for PUBLIC Health INFORMATICS  AND RESEARCH

 

 

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About Us

 

Overview

Staff

Organizational Chart

 

 

Overview

The Institute for Public Health Informatics and Research (formally the Institute for Health, Policy and Evaluation Research) was formed in September 2001 as a Division of the Duval County Health Department in collaboration with the University of Florida, Department of Pediatrics.  The Institute is conceptualized as a community resource, serving as a pivotal center for coordinating and enhancing community health research and evaluation capacity.   The Institute includes a Center for Health Statistics, a Center for Program Evaluation, a Center for Community Health Research, a Center for Health Informatics and a Quality Management & Planning Program.

The Institute provides the community and the state with a substantial quantitative and qualitative research capacity, combining the surveillance and assessment functions of a local Health Department with the research assets of an Academic Medical Center.  This highly applied research capacity enables the community to address population and community health issues, normally beyond the scope of either institution’s traditional boundaries.  

The Institute is well equipped to accomplish both the research and assessment missions with the requisite software to perform a broad range of quantitative and qualitative analysis including: SPSS, SAS, Atlas TI, ArcGIS, Remark and Microsoft Professional Office packages.  In addition to software, the Institute has multiple secure servers to house large amounts of confidential data with highly restricted access by designated people.  Supporting equipment includes two scanners with automatic document feeders to input primary data collection.   The Institute also has compatible voice recording software for data transcription to support four digital voice recorders that are used to assist with in-person, focus group and telephone interviews.  In addition to Institute printers and a large color plotter, the Institute has access to the Department’s graphic office located in the same building.

The Institute has a highly competent and growing staff.  The Director has over 30 years of experience as a University faculty member and 15 years experience as the Chair of an Academic Department that included teacher preparation programs.  He previously conducted evaluation of statewide school based health programs, chaired the development of statewide health education curriculum guidelines, chaired statewide efforts to enhance teacher preparation standards for health and physical education, and served as President of a state affiliate of the American School Health Association.  The Institute Administrator has a MSW and extensive research training at the doctoral level in addition to key experience evaluating community-based programs and community health program administration.  The Institute also has six MPH trained research associates with various background (from biostatistics to health education to global health and infectious diseases) and a data technology research assistant with GIS mapping ability.  Other full time staff include: a PHD level Anthropologist, two ethnographic research assistant, a database research assistant and an administrative assistant. Part time staff includes a master’s level statistician and a research assistant.  Senior researchers affiliated with the Institute through the University of Florida include two physician (MD) researchers with MPH degrees.

 

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Institute's Staff

 

 

Interim Director/Administrator:

Thomas Bryant III, MSW

 

 

Thomas Bryant III began working with the Duval County Health Department first as director of the Center for Disease Control-funded Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program and its evaluation.  He has directed research, planning and evaluation programs at the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council, the New York City Department of Probation, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights.  He taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Columbia University, New York University and Tusculum College.  Mr. Bryant received his Master's degree in Social Work from Florida State University.  He continued his post graduate education in Social Research in the doctoral program at the Columbia University School of Social Work.  Mr. Bryant has extensive training and experience in research design, database design and development and qualitative and quantitative analyses.  He is proficient in statistical (SPSS and EPI Info), database (Access & SQL), spreadsheet, mapping and presentation software packages.  He serves on the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition and the Community Partnership for the Protection of Children Governing Board.  

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Coordinator for the Center for Community Health Research:
Nancy Winterbauer, PhD

 

Dr. Nancy Winterbauer is a medical anthropologist and epidemiologist.  She received a PhD in Biomedical Anthropology from Binghamton University (SUNY) and a MS degree in Epidemiology from the University at Albany (SUNY).  She has extensive experience in mixed-methods research, which she has applied to studies of gender and health, sexually transmitted infections, domestic violence, social marketing and program evaluation.  She has served as PI or primary evaluator on numerous studies, including a CDC/HRSA-funded evaluation of an AIDS and Corrections Demonstration Project – Jacksonville Jail LINC (Linking Inmates to Care), a breastfeeding promotion program targeting clients attending DCHD WIC clinics, and a civil-legal needs assessment of clients seeking services at the DCHD, Center for Women and Children.  She is a founding member of the community-based participatory research group, Community Research Partners for Kids with Special Needs and is a Co-investigator, along with other members of the partnership, of an NIH-funded research project to develop and evaluate an intervention to enhance care coordination for special needs children.  In addition to her position at the Institute, Dr. Winterbauer is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Florida, where she teaches courses in health and illness, cross-cultural methods, and diversity.  Prior to joining DCHD, Dr. Winterbauer was a Senior Research Scientist in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where she conducted street ethnography related to syphilis and HIV among out-of-treatment injection drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men.  

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Coordinator for the Center of Health Statistics:
Rebecca T. Filipowicz, MPH, MS, CHES  

 

Rebecca Filipowicz joined the Institute for Health, Policy and Evaluation Research in September, 2005.  Rebecca has been an employee of the Florida Department of Health since December, 2003.  She formerly held a position as a regional coordinator for Chronic Disease Health Promotion and Education in the panhandle of Florida.  Rebecca holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a major in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  She also holds a Master’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology from the University of North Texas.  In addition Rebecca is a certified health education specialist.  Prior to working for the Florida DOH, she was an instructional designer and evaluation coordinator for the Career MPH program at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.  Rebecca is also adjunct faculty with the Career MPH program at Emory University and the College of Health at the University of North Florida.  She has worked as a consultant for Health Consulting Group, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, specifically on HIV related projects and workforce development.  Rebecca has experience working in program evaluation, workforce development, instructional design, research methods, distance learning, teaching and project development.

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Coordinator for the Center for Health Informatics:
Radley C. Remo, MPH

 

Radley Remo received his Master's in Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of South Florida.  He received his Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from the University of North Florida.  He has over seven years experience working at the Duval County Health Department as a Research Associate and Health Educator.  He has worked as a Senior Data Analyst for an academic medical center (Shands Jacksonville) in Jacksonville, FL and as a Research Assistant at James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa, FL.  He has a wide range of skills and knowledge of data analysis and collection tools (SPSS, ARC GIS and Teleform).

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Quality Management & Planning Program:
Steve Spitzfaden

 

Steve Spitzfaden is the director of Duval County Health Department’s Quality Management & Planning program. His major responsibilities include both quality improvement and quality assurance. Steve facilitates and coordinates strategic planning, performance measurement, along with providing process mapping, policy management & coordination, and establishing a culture of continuous quality improvement for the Duval County Health Department. Steve also serves as a trainer of quality management, quality improvement, and quality tools and techniques. Steve takes particular interest in improving customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction while striving to make DCHD a great place to work, receive services and contribute to the overall health of the Greater Jacksonville community.

Steve is a seasoned Sterling examiner and has been involved with the Sterling process as an examiner, Governor’s Sterling Award Conference Showcase participant, a member of the Florida Sterling Council and as a GSA winner since 2001. Steve has experience participating on Governor’s Sterling Award site visits. He also serves as the Region 2 Coordinator for the Sterling Showcase.

Steve’s previous experience includes 2 years teaching ED Children in North Carolina, three years as a psychotherapist in Waycross, Georgia, serving 2 years as Director of the Satilla Mental Health Clinic in Nahunta Georgia, 10 years as a Counselor and Qualified Mental Health Professional (as well as serving as acting director of the Service Planning Department) at former Governor’s Sterling Award Winner, North East Florida State Hospital in MacClenny, Florida and working in the Office of Performance Improvement for DCHD as a Government Operations Consultant I and II.

 

 

Director for Health Equity and Quality Research
David Wood, M.D., MPH

 

David Wood joined the University of Florida in 2000 as the Chief of the Division of Community Pediatrics.  He is board certified in preventive medicine and public health. He completed his medical and public health training at UCLA where he stayed for his residency in Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine.  He concluded his training with a fellowship in Health Services Research at RAND-UCLA.  Dr. Wood has an extensive career in health services research focusing on children’s health.   He has done research at Los Angeles County Public Health Department, UCLA School of Medicine, the Delmarva Foundation, Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, and at the University of Florida here in Jacksonville.  Currently, he works collaboratively with the Duval County Health Department on many projects including: Utilization of Primary and Specialty Care by persons with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities in Florida, Social Capital and Immunization Receipt among inner-city preschoolers, providing a Medical Home model for special needs children, homeless children and adolescents transitioning to adult health care services.  He also is attending pediatrician at the Kids ‘N Care clinic, a clinic for children in foster care and homeless children, and in the Jacksonville Health and Transition Services clinic at Shands/UF Internal Medicine clinic. 

 

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Senior Researcher:

William Livingood, PhD

 

Dr. Bill Livingood, Director of the Institute and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida, has been a university professor for over thirty years (first tenured and promoted to associate professor in 1976 and promoted to professor in 1983), during which time he served as an academic department chairperson for over 15 years.  

He has been Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator for numerous community based applied research and evaluation projects involving the use of a variety of research designs including studies related to: tobacco control, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, physical activity and obesity reduction, and health professions and workforce development.   He has lead research efforts funded by a range of national organizations including the American Public Health Association and the Health Resources and Services Administration related to public health workforce and credentialing issues.  In addition he has done work for maternal & child health projects with funding from the CDC and HRSA Maternal & Child Health Bureau and state Departments of Health for Pennsylvania and Florida.  Other research efforts include a variety of substance abuse and child abuse related evaluation projects, funded by national organizations through local and state agencies. 

He has held national, state and local leadership positions for a variety of voluntary, professional and advocacy health organizations. He presents at numerous professional meetings on an annual basis, is published in a broad range of national public health and health promotion journals, and serves as a reviewer for many of those journals.  He is immediate past President of the Council of Accredited MPH Programs and he received the Distinguished Fellow recognition from the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) in 2000.

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Biostatistician: 
 

Ryan Butterfield, DrPH (c)

 

 

Ryan Butterfield received his bachelors of science in Biomathematics, 2005, from La Sierra University in Riverside, CA. His senior thesis was on the simulation of compartmental models with applications to infectious disease spreading. He went on to Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA and graduated in 2008 with his M.P.H. in Biostatistics and Epidemiology and worked on Bayesian Meta-Analysis as his capstone project. While there he also participated in multiple research projects in conjunction with medical residents from the university hospital. These included areas such as internal medicine, neurology, infectious disease, and pathology. He returned to his native southeastern United States to attend the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health of Georgia Southern University, where he is currently pursuing his DrPH in Biostatistics. He has been working with the Duval County Health Department in Jacksonville, FL as a Biostatistician since July 2009.

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Health Policy Research Associate:

Susan Coughlin, MPH

 

 

Susan Coughlin joined the Institute in July 2004.  She received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan with dual major in Economics and Organizational Studies.  From 2000-2001, she worked in employee benefits consulting where she concentrated in health and life insurance cost/benefit analysis before returning to school for her master’s.  She received an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.  The summer before she received her master’s degree, she was a health care policy intern at the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC.  After receiving her degree, she worked at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) on the evaluation of New Jersey’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.  Currently, Susie works on the evaluation and data management of a CDC-funded project with DCHD’s AIDS Program Office.  She has also recently completed an evidence-based policy report on the prevention of childhood obesity. 

 

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Research Associate:

 

Kimberly Pierce, MPH

 

 

Kimberly Pierce received her Master's in Public Health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) in 2005.  Her previous experience includes working as a Research Specialist for Emory University’s School of Medicine (2000-2006), a research intern for the RSPH’s department of Global Health’s Molecular Epidemiology Unit (2004-2005), and as a systematic literature reviewer for the CDC’s Community Guide-Task force for Community Preventive Services within the division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (2005-2006).  Kimberly has extensive experience in quantitative analysis through statistical software packages (SAS, Epi Info, and SPSS) and database management through Access software.

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Research Associate:
Elena Reuter

 

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Statistical Research Associate:
Luminita Razaila, MS

 

Lumi Razaila received a Master's in Mathematical Science from the University of North Florida and her Bachelor degree from the University of Bucharest, in Romania.  Her contributions to the Institute involve analyzing data and collecting summarized information available on the net, to create statistical reports or maps. At the present time she teaches Statistics for Health and Social Science at UNF where she is employed as a full-time Statistics Instructor. Her experience also includes working as a Statistics Researcher at Vistakon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary based here in Jacksonville, in their Department of Clinical Research.  She also works as a Statistical Consultant with the Southern Community Cohort Study.

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Research Assistant:
Morris W. Jackson, MPA

 

Mr. Jackson received a Master degree in Public Administration from Troy State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Jackson State University. He began working with DCHD over 5 years ago in the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program where he supervised data collection in the Teen Behavior Survey project where teens were used to survey other teens regarding risky behaviors in settings where they hangout, i.e, malls, parks, community centers. Mr. Jackson currently works as a GIS mapping analyst and database manager. In addition, he has been in the Air Force reserves for 22 years.

 

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Ethnographer Research Assistant:
Anita Davis, BA

 

Anita holds Bachelor's of Arts degrees in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of North Florida. She has conducted two independent grant-funded qualitative research projects in Japan and now engages in qualitative research at the Institute including work for the Statewide HIV/AIDS needs assessment, evaluation of Healthy Childcare Jacksonville, a Childhood Obesity study, evaluation of the Anne E. Dyson foundation grant implementation, Medical Home project for children with special health care needs and the Magnolia study which looks at maternal health care.  

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Research Assistant:
Eulisa Morgan-Murphy, BA

 

Eulisa Morgan-Murphy received her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Business Administration.  She is planning on continuing her education with University South Florida with a Master’s Degree in Public Health.  Eulisa has been involved in several organizations within Duval County such as Study Circles of Jacksonville dealing with racial division, Healthy Families of Jacksonville, and Jacksonville Housing Authority aimed at helping senior citizens.  She has been working with the health department since April 2005 and is looking forward to continuing her qualitative and quantitative research.   

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Government Operations Consultant I:

 

Violetta Deloatch

 

Violetta Deloatch a native of Philadelphia, PA relocated to Jacksonville, Florida in July 2003 to continue her devotion of public health.  A former HIV/AIDS Device Coordinator and Administrative Assistant III for the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office in Philadelphia she moved to Jacksonville, Florida to continue an educational quest encompassing communication in public health.  While attending night school, majoring in Media Communication, at the University of North Florida (UNF) she attentively works to support Quality Improvement at Duval County Health Department, DCHD.  Her work experience ranges from clinical administrative support, developmental screening for children ages 6months to 5years, TRAC-IT administrator, Data specialist- Training Dept., Satellite Coordinator, Conference-Room Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Orasure and Oraquick specimen collection devices, to Quality Coordinator and Quality Management.  Violetta is currently serving as a secretary for the Diversity Advisory Council, DAC for DCHD as well as a Quality Coordinator. 

Awards and recognition:

DCHD Customer Service Award: awarded 2008

 

Staff Assistant:

 

'Charley' Tyler-Trubey

 

Charley joined the Institute in January of 2008 after being retired for a few years from the State of Florida Department of Corrections as a Correctional Officer. Charley has worked for the State of Florida off and on since 1966 and has experience as a supervisor, staff assistant, administrative assistant and security. Charley is a member of the DCHD's  Awards & Recognition Committee and serves as the committee's Secretary.

In June of 2008 she received a Certificate of Special Recognition for Special Productivity Award.  In addition she received recognition for her work during Tropical Storm Fay at the Oceanway Special Needs Shelter from one of the clients.

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Administrative Assistant III:
Kathleen Stansell

 

Kathleen has been associated with the Institute since it was formed in September 2001 and has extensive business and administrative experience.  She has been employed in the Pentagon, Washington, DC, Office of the Secretary of Defense;  Office of the Commanding General, United States Southern Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL;  and Application Analyst, Siemens AG.

Special Awards:

September 2006 - Duval County Health Department, Senior Management Service Award

March 18, 2009 - Certificate of Appreciation for serving as Chairperson of the DCHD History Project and Participating in the Dedication of the New Smith Auditorium, March 18, 2009

April 15, 2009 - Certificate of Special Recognition, Special Productivity Award, Health, Policy & Evaluation Research

July 15, 2009 - Director’s Special Award, Recognition of Achievement on the 120th Anniversary DCHD Historical Project

Kathleen is co-author on a manuscript entitled, “Medicine and Public Health in Jacksonville:  A History of Collaboration,” Northeast Florida, Medicine, published by Duval County Medical Society Foundation, Volume 60, No. 2, Summer 2009.

Kathleen will also serve as the DCHD representative on the committee of the Florida Museum of Medicine & Public Health, Jacksonville, FL.

 

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Organizational Chart

 

 

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Institute for PUBLIC Health INFORMATICS AND Research

900 University Boulevard North, Suite 604

Jacksonville, FL 32211

(904) 253-1370

 

 

 

 

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