Community Health & Wellness Degree

Ignite Your Passion for Helping Others and Healthy Living

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic showed exactly how important community health officials are in keeping our society safe. The Community Health and Wellness degree at Keuka College will prepare you to become a leader in educating patients regarding their health in non-clinical environments.

The program will provide you with strong foundational knowledge in fields including population health, psychology, healthcare ethics, and business.

With your Community Health and Wellness degree, you can enjoy a lifelong career guiding individuals in sound healthcare practices, leading community health programs, and raising public awareness about important health concerns.

After you graduate, you may also be qualified to enter a graduate school or professional health service program to pursue an advanced degree in health services administration, public health, health informatics, or hospital administration.

Learn More About Community Health & Wellness

Foundation in Health: Build your knowledge base in healthy living practices, education, and promotion of individual and public health that includes program development, administration, and research.
Emphasis on Evidence: Learn to connect your classroom training with solid research practices and outcomes, so you'll have the skills you need to help change lives, whether working with individuals or developing programs for communities and larger populations.
Real-World Experience: Seek out Field Period® experiences in settings where you would like to work in the future. And further develop valuable skills that employers desire in your senior capstone course.

Through our Field Period® program, students may leverage educational opportunities to enhance their readiness for interprofessional collaboration.

A Community Health and Wellness degree student works with an at-need population in the Dominican Republic.

Past group Field Period® trips to nations such as the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, in tandem with those studying occupational therapy, nursing, social work, and natural sciences have introduced students to community health needs and services for overseas populations.

Students develop professional and cultural competencies, while collaborating in a service trip with plenty of hands-on learning.

Christopher Alterio, Dr.OT, OTR/L

Founding Dean, School of Health and Human Services
Professor of Occupational Therapy

(315) 279-5483
[email protected]

Nova Southeastern University: Dr.OT
SUNY at Buffalo: B.S.

Biography

Dr. Alterio graduated cum laude from the SUNY at Buffalo Occupational Therapy program in 1987. He worked as a clinician, educator, and manager before completing his post-professional clinical doctorate at Nova Southeastern University in 2007.

He authored the textbook “Clinically oriented theory for occupational therapy” and co-authored "Caring for someone in your home." He writes extensively on a professional blog that covers occupational therapy topics. His clinical experience ranges across practice areas but his primary interest and focus is in pediatrics. He has presented at state and national conferences on topics ranging from pediatric clinical care and injury prevention programs, certification standards for occupational therapists, occupational therapy history, and appropriate use of social media in a professional context.

He has volunteered for 27 years for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, serving as pediatric subject matter expert on various exam and product development committees, and in all Board of Director leadership positions including Board Chairperson from 2010-12. He owns ABC Therapeutics, a private occupational and physical therapy practice in Western New York. He has served at Keuka College in various roles since 1992 and is currently Associate Professor, Chair, and Program Director of the occupational therapy division.