Two cohorts begin training July 30 and 31, two more on Aug 13-14. George F. Bond, health director for the Buncombe County Health Department, said the academy exceeded all expectations of the four members of his team, who started last year. But what we got was every lesson plan built from the ground up, tailored to mid-career public health managers. Diane Lynch, deputy director for the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness in Atlanta, has already begun to put into practice some of what she learned in training last August. One of the case studies from class convinced her to experiment with her department's management style.
Porter is project director for the academy.
The pinnacle of the academy experience will be the teams' community health business plans, which will be executed in their home agencies to improve community health. Academy members from the 1999-2000 class will present their plans May 4 and 11 in Chapel Hill. The top plans from each state will be recognized with awards. The Management Academy was designed with two questions in mind, Porter said. Porter said the answer to this is largely unknown.