2017 was a busy and fulfilling year for the Oklahoma local performance site of the Region 6 South Central Public Health Training Center based at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. We kicked off the year with the Region 6 meeting hosted by Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine - connecting with colleagues and learning more about the courses we are developing. Following this meeting, we selected the stipend award winners for the year. All of our applicants were very competitive, and it was a tough final decision. All of our stipend winners completed outstanding practicums throughout Oklahoma that made meaningful and lasting changes in their settings.  Projects areas of focus included tobacco cessation among those with severe mental illness, improving Hepatitis C estimation in Native Americans, improving public health policy for food pantries, and increasing Pap smear and HPV vaccination rates in the Hispanic population. These varied projects all fit with our general focus on behavioral health, Native Americans, and vulnerable populations. Additionally, our student-faculty collaborative project was a thorough analysis of Oklahoma health departments and agencies' experiences with the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation process.

By the end of this year, we will completed ten courses and a further six lessons for the Tulane Learning Management System (LMS). These courses, all of which will be available free of charge, cover various aspects of gerontology, turning data into action, tribal health, and behavioral health. In collaborating with various subject matter experts for these courses, we built new relationships and cemented existing ones with partners throughout Oklahoma and beyond, including the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, the Association of American Indian Physicians, the Cherokee Nation, and the Oklahoma Department of Securities. One of these partners is the Oklahoma Public Health Association (OPHA). At their 2017 annual meeting, we presented a well-received poster highlighting our work and all the various trainings available on the LMS.

Additionally we've added two new members to our team, and are now five faculty members and two graduate students. We are all proud of all we've been able to achieve this year and look forward to building on our success.