LPHI Makes Peer-Learning Fun During Region 6 PHIG Hub Convening

Author: By: Chloe Lake
Date: January 22, 2024

“Our Region 6 PHIG network is definitely stronger after coming together in person at the convening.”

Daniele Farrisi, Director of Capacity Building, LPHI

On December 5-6, 2023, the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) brought today over 70 people for their Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) Hub Convening in Dallas, Texas. Attendees included health department employees from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, representatives of public health institutes in New Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, and PHIG National Partners. LPHI serves as the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI)’s PHIG Hub for Region 6.

This was the sixth Hub convening within a larger series coordinated by NNPHI. Regional Hub convenings offer PHIG recipients in-person platforms to receive hands-on technical assistance, exchange insights, and build relationships with their hub, national PHIG partners and technical assistance providers, and other health departments in their region. LPHI, in planning this convening, sought to encourage peer-to-peer learning and active participation, emphasizing the importance of making all learning and networking experiences both productive and enjoyable. The intention was to create an environment that was not only educational but also fun, ensuring that attendees remained engaged and were motivated to sustain the relationships and collaborations they initiated during the convening.

CONVENING HIGHLIGHTS

Meet the Grantees Session: A particularly noteworthy session was “Meet the Grantees,” where each health department decorated a tri-fold poster to introduce their team, their PHIG priorities, and what they were looking forward to at the convening. Participants were encouraged to draw pictures, write fun facts about themselves, and personalize their posters with stickers. LPHI also took a polaroid of each group to tape to their trifold. All attendees were then invited to walk around to meet each other and discuss how their priorities aligned or differed. This interactive icebreaker created a fun and relaxed atmosphere that encouraged attendees to engage openly, setting the tone for networking and collaboration throughout the event.
Huddles Session: The “Huddles” session emerged as a resounding success. During this session, each health department conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, then huddled with other health departments to discuss areas of success, roadblocks, and the resources each of them possess to could fill others’ gaps. The session resulted in numerous connections and laid the foundation for enhanced collaboration among health departments. Participants actively engaged during the session, then continued conversations even after the day’s formal conclusion.
Our Role in Staff Wellness: The “Our Role in Staff Wellness: Own. Lead. Act.” session sparked rich conversations among attendees. The session explored self-care in the workplace, burnout, and how we can engage with the people around us to create a positive work environment.

Meet the Grantees Session

CONVENING OUTCOMES

Preliminary evaluation results of this convening show high attendee satisfaction ratings, and both the LPHI and NNPHI support teams were happy to see robust interaction between health departments, national partners, and public health institutes over the two days of the convening. Daniele Farrisi, Director of Capacity Building at LPHI and coordinator of the Technical Assistance Hub for Region 6, expressed enthusiasm about the event, saying, “It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the PHIG recipients, including their needs and priorities. It was also gratifying to see how this event created opportunities for recipients to network with and learn from each other as well as our other technical assistance partners.”

“All speakers and topics were great. I thoroughly enjoyed the networking aspect. It was extremely helpful to meet other grantees and hear about their successes and challenges. Also, to now have their contact information is wonderful.”

Attendee response on post-event survey

The LPHI team attributed the success of the convening to attendees’ willingness and enthusiasm to engage with each other and the content. Notably, LPHI has observed connections between health departments in their regions continue to grow post-convening, as recipients reach out to each other to continue discussing best practices in their fields. These ongoing interactions underscore the unique opportunities that PHIG provides to nurture interorganizational relationships, and highlights the importance of deconstructing siloes in our work to strengthen public health infrastructure.

LEARN MORE

More information and resources related to the Public Health Infrastructure Grant can be found at PHInfrastructure.org. More information about LPHI can be found at LPHI.org.

This work is supported by funds made available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Center for STLT Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce, through OE22-2203: Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems grant. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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