The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is pleased to announce the launch of the University Outreach Pilot Program, which features the U.S. Surgeon General’s Speakers Bureau. This program was created to increase awareness about the Corps and to strengthen its academic partnership efforts. The Speakers Bureau will provide selected universities with highly qualified, trained PHS officers for existing or new speaking engagements. Participants will be exposed to topics that range from disaster response to serving a military population and developing cultural competency all presented by subject matter experts in these fields.

In conjunction with this program, on September 8, 2010, CAPT Jon Perez, National Behavioral Health Consultant to the Indian Health Service and Team Leader for a PHS Mental Health Disaster Response Team, hosted a Brownbag Session with doctoral students and faculty from the Counseling Psychology Program at Arizona State University. During the session, CAPT Perez shared information about the various behavioral health and humanitarian missions that PHS officers support. Participants learned about the rich history of the PHS, America’s only uniformed service of public health professionals, and received first-hand information about what happens when PHS officers deployed to provide much needed care for those in need during disaster response and humanitarian missions.

CAPT Perez, who has been a PHS officer for more than 18 years, led an in-depth discussion about the various opportunities that exist for behavioral health professionals in public health. He also shared information about how behavioral health officers have been involved in large scale humanitarian efforts like the South Asian Tsunami of 2004 and disaster response efforts such as Hurricane Katrina, as well as small team deployments around the world.

Many of the students were surprised to learn that a uniformed service like the PHS exists and several expressed interest in exploring opportunities in the Service. The audience was particularly fascinated by the work that PHS officers do to support wounded warriors through the Memorandum of Agreement between the PHS and the Department of Defense that places psychological health providers at military treatment facilities treating those in the greatest need, as well as ongoing efforts in the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. CAPT Perez concluded the session on a high note, informing the participants that the PHS is a “well-kept secret” and “one of the best jobs in the world!”

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is an elite team of more than 6,600 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the Nation's public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. Driven by a passion for public service, these men and women serve on the frontlines in the Nation's fight against disease and poor health conditions. As one of America's seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within the Nation's Federal Government agencies and programs.

To learn more about the Commissioned Corps, including the proud history of this storied Service, officer profiles, stories, qualifications and much more visit the website at www.usphs.gov and also be sure to visit PHS on Facebook at www.facebook.com/USPHS. For more information about the University Outreach Pilot Program and Speakers Bureau, contact Elaine Rahbar at rahbar_elaine@bah.com or Crystal Coleman at coleman_crystal@bah.com.

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