An NIU graduate student in public health has been selected as a fellow to the new Illinois Public Health Leadership Institute.

Ann Rodriguez of Sterling was the only NIU student chosen among 25 statewide fellows who applied for the IPHLI honor offered for the first time this year.

She recently attended the first conference in a year-long program designed to improve public health service to communities through leadership training.

The conference featured speakers from around the country, workshops and group discussions with mentors.

“They (IPHLI) hope it will become a model for other states,” Rodriguez said.

The fellows were selected based on self-assessments, public health service experience and academic training. Rodriguez, who hopes to complete her graduate studies next year, is the communicable disease coordinator of the Whiteside County Health department.

The fellows work at assessing the needs of communities, writing policies and guaranteeing access to these programs, Rodriguez said. Winners also must attend two follow-up sessions and prepare a case study.

Rodriguez said a major public health issue is bilingual education. While Spanish translators have become more available, other minority groups have not received much attention, she said.

“We need to do assessments of the communities. All the different languages have to be addressed. Basically, we need to cover more minorities to provide services,” Rodriguez said.

Health professionals also need to understand different cultures to deal with people effectively, she said. “There are many things about culture and medicine that have not been seen.”

Rodriguez said two major health issues affecting Hispanics are Tuberculosis and HIV. “We are teaching Hispanic workshops. We are educating Hispanic leaders to spread the word of HIV,” she said.

“Education is the key. We are educating for the prevention of transmission,” she said.