Internship Location: Santa Ana CA
Organization Type: Local Government
Policy Areas: Health
I worked for Orange County Emergency Medical Services (OCEMS) which is part of the larger Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) located in Orange County, California. During this internship I took part in helping to create policy to guide county action in the event of a public health emergency. The emergencies prepared for include events such as pandemics, medical surges, and other large scale public health emergencies. Working in Orange County is unique due to the sizable population, the sixth largest county in the country. Due to its size, policy has to be written and the county has to be prepared to help large amounts of people. During the internship, I was fortunate to work hands on in policy by assessing current county policies and working with other county employees to develop new policies. To me, this was the most valuable part of the internship as I got to be involved in the process rather than on the side. This internship taught me a lot about the process to develop policy at the county level and the impact the state and federal government has on it. For myself, I was able to connect to my hometown and discover more about the health care system that has played a large role in my life. I would recommend this internship to anyone who is looking to gain experience working in health policy at the county level.