Tulane Center of Excellence in Maternal & Child Health renewed for another five years

The Tulane Center of Excellence in Maternal & Child Health (CEMCH) has received a grant renewal from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau to strengthen public health workforce training in the field of maternal and child health (MCH) and improve outcomes for families of all kinds. 

Since its initial award 20 years ago, CEMCH has been at the forefront of MCH workforce development, with impacts locally, across the state, and beyond. Through this renewed funding, the center will sustain and expand its high impact training programs, ensuring students and professionals remain equipped with essential public health and MCH skills. 

Among its offerings is the CEMCH Leaders Program, an interdisciplinary, two-year training and scholarship program for students committed to the field of MCH. Through the Leaders Program, students enhance their classroom experience through mentorship, rotations and service with MCH-related organizations, professional and personal development activities, the opportunity to attend national public health conferences, and networking with their MCH peers across the country. The center also offers training and support to all MCH-interested students across the university and locally, at both master’s and doctoral levels, and supports an active student interest group. Externally, the program offers trainees and faculty with the MCH workforce to enhance the capacity of both partners and trainees and offers trainings to professionals across domestic public health workforce regions. 

"This renewal helps us build on over two decades of progress."

-- Dr. Kat Theall, CEMCH director

Tulane’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine has had a long commitment to maternal and child health, addressing the health needs of women, infants, children, youth, adolescents, and families both nationally and globally. Faculty conduct cross-cutting research that combines MCH with issues of health equity, implementation science, violence prevention, mental health care, disaster management, and more. 

New this fall, the school will launch the first of its “areas of specialization,” including one in Maternal and Child Health. Students across the Celia Scott Weatherhead School can add a specialization in MCH to any MPH or MSPH degree program to further develop analytic, programmatic, policy, and communication skills that serve the MCH population and its varied stakeholders. This specialization will give students a practical, secondary skill set combined with their program of study. Students in the MCH Specialization are also eligible to apply for the CEMCH Leaders program.

“This renewal helps us build on over two decades of progress,” said Dr. Kat Theall, CEMCH director. “Having this grant allows us to not only serve all of our students with an interest in MCH but also ensure the school is involved in workforce development outside the academic walls.”

Building on this track record, the renewed funding will:

1.    Expand placement opportunities in maternal–child public health across the Gulf South.
2.    Increase scholarships and leadership stipends for qualified graduate students.
3.    Foster new community partnerships to enhance MCH research, practice, and policy.

Learn more about CEMCH initiatives, the new MCH Specialization, or the school’s research and practice in MCH.