Jason Zibart, BSPH, alumnus of Kent State’s College of Public Health, is Arizona’s 2020 Rural Health Day community star. Zibart works as a Community Development Specialist at Benson Hospital, located in Benson, Arizona.
While Zibart originally planned to become a nurse, his career path pivoted when he realized his passion for public health. Zibart graduated with a Bachelor’s in Public Health.
“This was not my original career path in health care. About ten years ago I was working as a patient care tech at a hospital. I was planning. become a nurse, but one patient shifted my entire career plan. It was a night in July, monsoon rains flooding Tucson when I admitted a young patient with elevated blood sugar and a necrotic toe. The man had no idea he had diabetes. The surgeons ended up having to remove the toe, and I remember thinking `How could this guy not know diabetic?” said Zibart in Rural Health Day Magazine.
Zibart then became determined to help his community address the contributing causes of underlying diseases and illness, and prevent issues from escalating.
He credits the College of Public Health for challenging him intellectually, allowing him to grow.
Congratulations to Jason Zibart for his accomplishments!