Plan II Honors Program | College of Liberal Arts
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Service-Learning: Burden of Disease

Fall 2019 – Spring 2020

*Course Not Currently being offered.

Burden of Disease, Health Care and Social Care in the United States: 18th Century to the 21st Century (T C 330)

Plan II students who are interested in medicine, public health, social services, and non-profit administration are invited to apply for this unique hybrid experience delving into the impact of the “burden of disease” in the United States. This six-unit, two semester TC 330 course, introduces students to the history of diseases as they relate to the development of the US health care sector during the fall 2019 semester and places students as interns in various social service organizations across Austin during the spring 2020 semester.

The purpose of the fall course is to explore the “burden of disease” in the US as it has changed from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Students will read articles and excerpts from monographs that explore the interplay between the epidemiology, the responses of providers of health care, service, support and information, the progress of medical science, the emergence of public health as an essential response to the threats to community health and the structural changes that have occurred in the US during the four centuries. The class will include tours to local health and social service providers and will set the context for internships in social service and healthcare organizations in the 2020 spring semester.

Time commitment during the spring course is approximately 10-15 hours per week of seminar time and internship work. These unpaid positions provide hands-on experience and the opportunity to learn more about the vital role social service providers play in chronic disease management and the relationship to the health care sector. Interns will be placed in pairs or triads to enhance service-learning experiences and insights.

A maximum of eighteen students will be selected for this two-semester course each year.

Note: the TC 330 is an upper division elective course and cannot be used to fulfill the Plan II Junior Seminar requirement.

College of Liberal Arts

Professor Charles Barnett

About the Professor:

Charles Barnett was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where he received a B.A. and an M.A. in History at The University of Cincinnati with a concentration in the history of ideas, science and medicine. Charles subsequently worked clinically in several Cincinnati hospitals as an Operating Room Technician and a Surgeon’s Assistant. He received his MHA from Xavier University in Cincinnati in 1978. Charles has served in Senior Executive positions in hospitals from 1978 until 2015. He served as the President and CEO of the Seton Healthcare Family from 1993 until 2013 when he moved into the role of Executive Board Chair. During his tenure at Seton he also served in operational roles at Seton’s parent organization Ascension including service as the President of Healthcare Operations for the National System. After retiring from Seton and Ascension Charles served as the President of the Healthcare Group of CognitiveScale until 2016. Charles is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He served as the Board Chair of the United Way for Greater Austin, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Optimal Health, Austin Partners in Education and was a Founder of the Indigent Care Collaboration. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Waller Creek Conservancy.  He Served as Executive in Residence at the McCombs School of Business from 2014 to 2015. In 2009 he was named Austinite of the Year. In 2007 he received the Rostow Award and in 2005 received the American Heart Association’s Distinguished Service Award.