#UMNMCH student, Anna Fuerniss (MPH 2025), shares how her deployment with the Minnesota Vision Health Task Force (MNVHTF) is contributing to improving vision screening for young children in Minnesota. The Task Force’s work aims to improve access to early childhood vision screenings and enhance outcomes for children and adults.

My journey into Maternal and Child Health (MCH) began while working in early childhood education and care. I saw how access to developmental screenings, like vision and hearing, could shape a child’s ability to thrive both academically and socially. These experiences revealed how upstream public health efforts in early childhood can influence long-term outcomes in education and health. When I learned about the deployment opportunity with the Minnesota Vision Health Task Force (MNVHTF), I knew it was a perfect fit for my interests. The MNVHTF is a statewide collaborative initiative working to identify barriers to vision screening and co-develop actionable strategies to ensure all children receive timely and effective screenings that support their development and learning.

As the Early Childhood Screening (ECS) Research Intern with Minneapolis Public Schools, my deployment has a variety of roles and responsibilities. One of my primary responsibilities has been analyzing state and district-level early childhood screening data to better understand geographic trends, referral patterns, follow-up rates, screening outcomes, and opportunities for systems improvement. I’m currently developing an informational one-pager that summarizes these findings to present practical, data-driven recommendations—such as standardizing screening protocols and enhancing referral tracking—that can inform policy and practice across Minnesota.

What makes this experience especially meaningful is how connected the classroom is to real-world systems work. I’ve gained hands-on skills in data interpretation, cross-sector communication, and policy translation while contributing to a project with tangible, statewide impact. This deployment has deepened my understanding of how vision health intersects with educational success and lifelong well-being. It also reminded me that even highly specific public health issues, like vision screening, are shaped by complex systems, and improving them requires both curiosity and collaboration.

My message to MCH students: don’t underestimate the power of getting involved early and often, as real-world experience is where the learning comes to life. The MNVHTF has been a space where I’ve grown as a professional and public health advocate, and I’m grateful to be part of this important work.

BIO

Anna is a second-year MCH MPH student at the University of Minnesota. Her background is in early childhood education and health humanities, with a concentration in biology and a minor in German from the College of St. Scholastica.

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