Bachelor of SciencePublic Health

Students graduating from Bellarmine with a degree in Public Health will:

• Analyze social, socioeconomic, anthropologic, economic, and political determinants of health, including disparities in access, quality, health education, prevention efforts, and cost for various populations;
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative data and evidence-based practices via epidemiological methods to develop public health education initiatives and timely, appropriate interventions;
• Examine, in-depth, the implications of various public health and population health strategies and policies implemented over time within mainstream and marginalized diverse communities;
• Evaluate the structure and organization of various systems that interface with public health efforts, both within and outside of traditional health care settings; and
• Integrate course content, with particular emphasis on social determinants, epidemiologic practices, biostatistics and data analysis, health psychology, and preventive efforts, within an enhanced capstone course that includes an internship with a local public health agency or program.

Experienced leaders of highly regarded organizations in the fields of health care, senior living, public health and aging services serve as mentors during internships designed to familiarize students with such operations. Every students can expect to gain first-hand, relevant career experience by completing a departmental rotation in a care center, participating in internal and external meetings, or performing approved projects for the host organization.

One of the most prominent demographic shifts anticipated across the United States – and throughout the industrialized world – over the next 10-15 years is an unprecedented growth in the number of older adults, both in pure number and percentage of the population. Organizations providing long-term care, senior living services, aging care and services, and public health services that address this demographic shift are expected to grow exponentially, as are companies that supply goods and services to those providers and public service agencies that regulate them.

The professions within aging care, senior living services, and public health require well-prepared leaders who can effectively plan, organize, and direct organizations to achieve strategic goals and advance their respective missions. With one of these health care degrees, students can pursue a wide variety of careers:

• Administrator or Executive Director: Long-Term Care, Post-Acute Care, Home- and Community-Based Services, Seniors Housing 
• Organizational Leadership: Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Public Relations, Environmental and Risk Management, Health Informatics
• Public Sector: Epidemiologist, Biostatistician, Community Health Administrator, Public Policy Advocate, Government Regulatory Agency Staff
• Sales: Vendors of Pharmaceuticals, Goods, and Services to Healthcare Providers
• Private Sector: End-of-Life Doula, Health Science Writer, Health Equity Advocate, Public Health Advocate

Career Development Center

Jessica Hume, Ph.D., MFA, Department Chair (email)
Anne Veno, DNP, MBA, RN (email)
Harry Dadds, J.D., LL.M. (email)
Chris Ekstrom, Department Assistant

The Department of Health Care Administration and Public Health at Bellarmine University is one of only 15 programs in the nation accredited by the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB). NAB granted accreditation in 2021 for the Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration degree. Students with this degree are eligible to sit for the national nursing home administrator and assisted living licensure exams, and are eligible for licensure in the majority of states following graduation.