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UNM To House Population Health College

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New Mexico will be home to the nation's first population health doctoral program. The new program was inspired by the Affordable Care Act to help grow the workforce for our healthcare system. The college will feature a multi-disciplinary degree program that aims to train the students who will provide healthcare services. 

Deborah Helizer will be the dean of the new program which will go live in the fall of 2016. She says the study of public health and medicine wasn’t separated, but for the past 100 years or so they’ve been split apart.

"This brings them back together in a way that I think everyone believes this is the right way to go," Helitzer said. "It’s a very forward thinking approach."

The program is planning on incorporating experiential courses and students will work with health councils in communities across the state. The program offered two pilot population health classes this semester, and Helitzer said they were big hits amongst students.

UNM will be the second university in the country to house a College of Population Health.