Staff Development at Riley County Health Department | By Brenda Nickel (Riley County Health Department) and Sonja Armbruster

Building on the Past and Looking to the Future 

In March 2015, the Riley County Health Department (RCHD) led its inaugural all staff training with facilitation support from the Public Health Initiatives Team at Wichita State's Center for Community Support and Research. In December 2014, after surveying local health departments, Riley County department directors and presenting the importance of professional and leadership development for public health professionals, RCHD received permission from the Board of Health to hold quarterly in-service for all staff closing the department during those times.

RCHD staff started the training with a timeline activity where staff learned about their peers and the history of the department. After a short review of major public health milestones, Riley County staff mapped their daily activities to the 10 essential services. The afternoon closed with a focus on teams and culture change. In the evaluations, staff reported that the most helpful parts of the event included:

• Learning about the history of public health and how much we do for our community.
• I enjoyed the 10 essentials and how evident it is that we meet those needs and expectations well.
• The timeline was an excellent tool to get to know others in the Health Department
• It was helpful to learn about all employees because I am new to the agency
• Seeing how what I do daily fits into the 10 essential services.

CCSR Public Health Initiatives develops people and organizations to improve the Public Health system in Kansas; empowers people through training, support and coaching; develops organizations through strategic planning, agency performance improvement and capacity building; and strengthens systems by facilitating statewide collaborative initiatives, peer learning, and creating opportunities for change. For more details on facilitation and other services offered by CCCSR contact Director of PHI Sonja Armbruster at or sonja.arbmbruster@wichita.edu or 316-978-3988.