Why did you choose the Yale School of Public Health?
In pursuing an MPH degree, I hope to integrate my primary care skills with public health tools to build adaptation strategies that enhance my community’s resilience to withstand the health impacts of climate change. If we view climate change as a social determinant of health, frontline communities will need transformational adaptation to social, economic, environmental, and health systems. Primary care can protect frontline communities by expanding access to high-quality health care, strengthening social capital through health advocacy and relationship building, and treating health conditions caused or exacerbated by climate-related effects. Primary care essentially acts to reduce the vulnerability of frontline communities exposed to climate-related effects. I chose the Yale School of Public Health because of the faculty within the school that are leading efforts to educate others about the intersection of climate change and health. After completing Yale’s Climate Change and Health Certificate program, I knew that Yale was the only place I wanted to be to complete my MPH.
The EMPH program allows me to continue my professional work while receiving outstanding online training at the same time. The on-campus intensives have been life- and career-changing due to the content, the inspirational faculty members, and my incredible classmates.
Dr. Leah Werner, MD, MPH
What were you doing before enrolling at YSPH?
I am an attending physician and assistant professor of family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. Climate change is the most serious long-term threat to human health in the world today. As a family physician, caring for individuals and families has been my central role within the health care system. Within that role, I work to provide preventive screening services for early diagnosis and intervention; practice high-quality, evidence-based medicine; educate on healthy lifestyles for the individual and the community; advocate for the health of my patients; and reinforce larger public health activities such as disease surveillance, injury prevention, disease control, and health promotion. Family physicians consider social determinants of health to inform our approach to meeting the health care needs of individuals and families. Family medicine (primary care) and public health are intertwined; they overlap and contribute to each other despite both fields operating independently. During the COVID pandemic, while I was working in both ambulatory and hospital settings, the Pacific Northwest also experienced a series of extreme climate change-driven weather events that caused catastrophic morbidity and mortality across the region. The death of a beloved patient during one of these weather events, the love I have for my children, and the relentless drive we all share to protect our patients and improve human health prompted my pursuit of additional training in climate change and human health.
What are your favorite aspects of the YSPH academic program?
The EMPH program allows me to continue my professional work while receiving outstanding online training at the same time. The on-campus intensives have been life- and career-changing due to the content, the inspirational faculty members, and my incredible classmates. I have applied each lesson within my courses and the intensives in real time to my professional work. I have been able to create the Primary Care Climate Change and Health Program, comprised of outstanding working professionals dedicated to climate change and human health education, health care sustainability practice (Healthcare Without Harm), public health policy, and implementation science and research.
What was your most impactful experience outside of class?
The conversations with my classmates: brainstorming, brain-swarming, idea-casting, imagining, recreating, restructuring, and actionable feedback. I have new friendships that have changed me and expanded my understanding of the world in a way that has made me feel so much gratitude. It hasn’t always been easy or smooth. I am admittedly discombobulated at times, as I sense the internal shifts and movements that are akin to entering a chrysalis. What will become of us as we emerge from this program? I am excited to find out!
Do you have a favorite Yale place or New Haven food?
During the on-campus intensives, I jogged through the entire Yale campus. I found that I was always drawn back to Hillhouse Avenue, one of the most beautiful college campus streets I have seen. With tree-lined streets and stately manors, it certainly stokes the Ivy League feel of campus. My favorite local place to eat is Bella’s Cafe on Whalley Avenue [in the Westville section of New Haven]. After Bella’s was suggested by a classmate, I discovered it was a most delicious breakfast joint.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
While I am honored to be working as a physician and leading a multidisciplinary team in the Primary Care Climate Change and Health Program, I look forward to long, slow runs through Portland’s beautiful parks, drinking tea in the afternoon, coaching my kids’ sports teams, and cooking up a storm.