Vision & Mission of VAPHA
Vision
Achieve significant improvements in public health practice and policy in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Mission
To improve the public’s health in Virginia by strengthening public health practice and promoting sound public health policy.
Goals
- Help develop a first-rate public health workforce that is connected, informed and highly capable of improving the public’s health in Virginia.
- Become an independent trustworthy voice for public health in Virginia.
- Promote effective and promising strategies through collaborative leadership.
- Stimulate public support for public health.
- Improve the function and structure of VAPHA to better meet its mission and goals.
A Bit of History…
VAPHA membership was largely made up of Virginia Department of Health employees until the mid 1990’s. After that and until 2007, agency involvement was reduced due to budget cuts surrounding travel and membership fees of any sort. While this significantly reduced the size of the organization, VAPHA began to enjoy a more diverse membership and also began to gather momentum. By the end of 2007, the Association secured a 3-year capacity-building grant for $88,000 from the American Public Health Association (APHA), funded by the Kellogg Foundation.
In 2008, VAPHA hired an Executive Director, created a new website and established a quarterly member newsletter. In addition to electing a new board in 2009, VAPHA designed a strategic plan complete with new vision, mission and goals.
The Here and Now…
The Association is committed to actively forming new partnerships, ideas and initiatives and serving as a forum for all of the voices of public health in Virginia to be heard. We are also expanding our tradition of providing continuing education to public health professionals. VAPHA is an active partner in the Commonwealth Public Health Training Center and is responsible for planning and executing the conferences associated with the grant, including the Health Equity Conference in the fall of 2011, annual Career and Internship Fairs, annual Spring Meetings on a variety of public health issues, and the upcoming Rural Health conference in partnership with the Virginia Rural Health Association.
Strategic Next Steps…and You!
Plans to strengthen our organization have already been set in motion and promise to enhance our overall operation and advance our mission. These plans include work to further develop our membership, financial processes, funding structures, and more. We will also continue to define and refine VAPHA’s role(s) in areas such as undergraduate education, health equity, policy, continuing education, and our role within the business community.
VAPHA offers its members valuable opportunities to: share knowledge and experiences and exchange ideas with other public health professionals on multiple public health issues; develop leadership skills; learn about some of the latest developments in our e-newsletter and through the news feeds on our website; receive discounts on VAPHA sponsored events, and more. If you would like to develop your connections and strengthen the role of VAPHA in the community, please join our organization.