ALUMNI PROFILES
Richard Garden, MD, MPH (Graduated in September 2007)
Clinical Director at the
Utah Department of Corrections
Born in Canada and immigrated to California at the age of 3, I grew up southern California surfing and skateboarding. I attended California State University at Fullerton earning a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. I attended medical school at the University of California in San Diego. My post-graduate medical training was obtained at Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
In 1994, I started work in a Family 
Practice office in a small town in Utah. There I met a colleague who asked if I could assist him with a patient load at the State Prison. At first I thought he was nuts, but I accepted. Soon I began to enjoy the variety of pathology and the challenges of working in the prison setting. In 1997 I assumed the role of assistant Medical Director and in 2001, I became the Medical Director over a system of 180 employees with an annual budget of $24 million. In 2002, I realized the importance of public health upon the incarcerated. To learn more, I began an MPH degree at the University of Utah (U of U) but soon found the daytime classes to be impossible. By recommendation from my program head, I applied and was accepted into the University of Massachusetts online MPH program.
I completed the program in 2007 completely on-line. Being a busy physician this was a god send. I thoroughly enjoyed each class and found the technical aspects no more or less difficult than online banking, shopping, etc. To my surprise, I found that I developed relationships with other students and even professors. The reality of a being a cyber student was pleasant and soon was little different than a traditional college education for a 40 year old professional.
I have gained much from my MPH educational experiences. My ability to care for our population has been enhanced by bringing a conceptual change to health care. I use a population approach now more than ever. We have established chronic care tracks for those with chronic disease, focusing more upon prevention and using an evidence based approach to care. Recently, we published and then presented at a national conference data gathered to investigate if inmates self monitoring of serum blood sugars yielded improved serum glucose and if possessing a the necessary glucometer resulted in adverse security issues. Such a direction and interest in investigation and the health of populations was the direct result of my MPH education.
