Alumni
Quanda L. Jones, BA, MPA
Supervising Public Health Advisor
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene/Bureau of Health Insurance
Services
Area of work: Health Insurance Services/Quality Control
After graduating from Shaw University, Raleigh, NC in 1992 with a degree in Mass Communications/and Business Administration, Quanda returned home to New York City in search of that ideal Broadcasters job. After searching for quite sometime the door to her dream job, or at least she thought it was at the time, never opened. Having the slightest idea what she was getting herself into she applied for a position with the New York City Department of Health Bureau of Tuberculosis Control Program. She became a Public Health Advisor at a time when TB was on the rise in urban ghettos in NYC monitoring TB patients through their course of treatment, educating family members and the public, on the public health risk, and prevention. Quanda became acquainted with doctors and nurses, learned about infection control, and precautionary measures. She became as close as possible without being a clinician an expert in drug regimens for tuberculosis treatment and antiretroviral drugs. Initially Quanda told herself, this is a far cry from wanting to be the next Oprah Winfrey. Nonetheless, she began to meet people who she serviced and noticed, that with the help and resources provided towards better health, at the end of the day she was able to make the slightest difference to someone in need.
As Quanda began to become more attached to her clients and to her work, she began to further understand this whole business of public health, the spread of disease, trends and how, through outreach and patience, there was an appreciation from the public that far surpassed what she was looking to gain in front of the television camera. As Quanda moved through the promotional ranks of the agency, her last stop with TB control was overseeing a Tuberculosis Control Chest Center in Lower Manhattan . After spending eight years with the Tuberculosis Control Program in 2001 she was offered a Supervisory position in a new health care initiative with health insurance and Medicaid managed care. Four years later she has completed a Masters Degree in Public Administration, and has become a part of an attempt to decrease the number of the uninsured in New York City.
Personal Information:
I am the mother of two girls Brittney 11, and Brianna 6. My days and weekends remain busy in chaperoning activities such as soccer practice, choir rehearsal, piano instruction, and dance classes. I experience joy through quality time with the family. I come from a small yet close nit family, that enjoys one another's company. To unwind and do something for myself, I like to take walks, go to the gym, get my hair done, window shop and try on lots of pretty shoes.
What I would like to get out of this program:
To align myself with a cadre of health care professionals that although are able to express similarities in managing or working in the health care industry, are able to share the differences in their experiences and grow from one another. I am looking to further enhance skills that have already been acquired, as well as pick up skills in areas such as budgeting and finance that I don't work with as much. Finally I am looking to develop relationships with persons from all spectrums of life, as well as the career and educational ladder and take pride in saying that we were selected to be the ELPH Fellows for 2006.