An academic-public health department partnership for education, research, practice, and governance

Public health departments and medical schools are often disconnected, yet each has much to offer the other. There are 4 areas in which the 2 entities can partner; in Atlanta, Georgia, the Morehouse School of Medicine (particularly its Prevention Research Center or PRC) and the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness have demonstrated partnership in each area. With respect to teaching, the 2 have collaborated on clerkships for medical students and rotations for preventive medicine residents. In research, Morehouse faculty and health department staff have worked together on projects. In service, the 2 entities have been able to put into practice interventions developed through their joint research efforts. In governance, the health department has a representative on the PRC board, while the PRC principal investigator serves on the Fulton County Board of Health. Benefits have accrued to both entities and to the communities that they serve.