Careers

Description:

About the Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority
The mission of the Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority is to champion effective
health care for underserved populations in our community. The PHPDA works to close gaps in health
disparities across the full continuum of preventive health services, primary care, specialty care, dental
health, behavioral health, and health outreach/education. We focus our work on addressing the effects
of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, linguistic discrimination, immigration bias, economic
inequality, and other forms of inequity.
Through the work of our Health Equity Fund, we intend to improve access and outcomes for people with
limited healthcare resources through innovative, cost-effective, and collaborative approaches to service
delivery and advocacy. The PHPDA does not provide direct services, but rather funds agencies engaged
in direct services and advocacy. Since 2013, the PHPDA has provided over $18 million to support
healthcare-related services for underserved populations in King County through our grant programs.

Focus of the work:

The PHPDA seeks to fund three (3) Health Equity Scholars in 2021 -- internships, practicums, or
capstones that will engage in research and/or practical activities to support and influence our mission of
promoting health equity King County. The project could be population-based in terms of addressing
health disparities, explore systematic inequities that lead to differential access and outcomes for
underserved individuals and communities, or focus on a practical aspect of PHPDA’s grantmaking.
The project should lead to the creation of a final report to the PHPDA that will:
• Identify a specific King County population whose health indicators demonstrate health access or
outcome disparities, OR identify a systemic, local, state, or federal policy or practice that leads to
health inequities, OR focus on an aspect of PHPDA’s grantmaking program and it’s process and
impact in addressing inequities;
• Quantify, if possible, the extent of the disparities;
• Explore the root causes for the health inequities;
• Propose solutions to address the health disparities that could positively impact PHPDA’s service and
advocacy grantmaking.
While we will consider any ideas within these parameters, there are a few areas we would be interested
in seeing additional research and learning:
• Practical ideas and applications for measuring impact across grants and programs that focus on different populations and services, and therefore have different metrics.
• Technology and its impact on health equity/disparities. This can include technology used by medical providers, the accessibility of technology to those already facing access barriers, and the accessibility of technology used to interact with and provide information to patients.
• Studying the role of community based organizations in both direct healthcare service and advocacy roles, and recommendations for how to amplify those roles to catalyze systemic changes to address health inequity.
If you wish to propose a project focused on one of these topics, please include a proposal on how you will address the issue in your application (see below).

Time frame:
We anticipate that each internship will comprise approximately four months of work. Actual work hours may vary, but we anticipate Health Equity Scholars will work on a part-time basis during their project.

Deliverables:
• Initial meetings with PHPDA staff to determine project objectives, strategies, and timelines.
• As necessary, meetings in person or via phone with PHPDA staff to provide project updates.
• Submission of a final report and/or other negotiated deliverables to the PHPDA upon completion of the project.
• A final presentation to the PHPDA’s Program Committee and/or Governing Council on the project’s findings.

Compensation:
$23/hour, not to exceed $3,500 gross salary during the internship period.
During the internship period, the student will have access to PHPDA materials and resources in consultation with PHPDA staff.
Students interested in pursuing this as a practicum or capstone are responsible for meeting the requirements and completing the required paperwork. For questions about practicum requirements at the School of Public Health, please contact Janice North, Manager of Experiential Learning.

Number of Students Accepted: 3
Compensation: $23/hour not to exceed $3500 gross salary

How to apply:
Please submit a written statement of no more than two (2) pages in length to c.bernard@phpda.org. You may also include a resume or CV. Your statement should include:
•Your name, contact information, and your departmental concentration at UW School of PublicHealth or other UW graduate program
•A brief statement about your background, academic and post-academic interests, includingreference to your experience/interest in addressing health equity issues
•The proposed focus of your internship, including the populations and health equity disparities youintend to address
•What outcomes you would hope to achieve based on your research findings
•The general time frame in which you would like to engage in the internship (this can be a specificacademic quarter or another proposed time frame)

Due date: Please submit your applications via email to: c.bernard@phpda.org Internship application statements are due to the PHPDA by close of business on Friday, March 12. After reviewing applications, PHPDA staff will contact finalists for in person or phone interviews. We plan on announcing the recipients of the internships by the end of March.