A public health implementation platform strengthening the translation of evidence-based disease prevention into coordinated, sustainable practice.
The Connectus Initiative is a public health implementation platform developed and operated by LitterGuard LLC. Its purpose is to strengthen implementation of evidence-based disease prevention by building multidisciplinary partnerships, practical implementation systems, and scalable public health infrastructure.
LitterGuard, LLC
Developer, sponsor, and operating organization
The Connectus Initiative
Multidisciplinary public health implementation platform
National Partnerships Program
National implementation infrastructure · Causeway Network · Partnership development · Digital implementation tools · Cross-sector collaboration
Toxoplasmosis One Health Prevention Program (TOPP)
Inaugural disease-specific implementation pilot · Proof-of-concept for the Connectus methodology · Designed to validate and inform future programs
Decades of scientific research have already established effective evidence-based disease prevention recommendations.
Today's challenge is no longer simply scientific discovery. The scientific challenge has increasingly become an implementation challenge — helping those recommendations become consistently applied in everyday practice across healthcare, veterinary medicine, public health, workplaces, schools, and communities.
Connectus exists to strengthen that translation by connecting the right people, trusted information, and implementation resources around the right person at the right time.
The Connectus Initiative is a multidisciplinary public health implementation platform dedicated to translating evidence-based disease prevention into coordinated, sustainable implementation.
Connectus strengthens implementation rather than generating new scientific recommendations — complementing decades of research by building the practical systems that help established evidence become routine practice.
Our mission is to create sustainable implementation systems that can be adapted across many disease prevention initiatives, beginning with TOPP and expanding through the National Partnerships Program and the Causeway Network.
Connectus brings together healthcare professionals, veterinarians, researchers, public health leaders, educators, employers, agricultural organizations, and community stakeholders to strengthen implementation across the One Health ecosystem.
These principles now support multiple implementation programs — providing a consistent methodological foundation that can be applied across a growing range of public health priorities.
01
Evidence-Based Science
Decades of peer-reviewed research and established public health guidelines
02
Implementation Science
Frameworks and strategies that improve adoption, sustainability, and real-world application
03
Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Healthcare · Veterinary · Public Health · Agriculture · Education · Community
04
Routine Practice
Evidence-based prevention consistently applied across everyday settings
05
Improved Public Health Outcomes
Reduced disease burden through sustained, scalable implementation
The Connectus Initiative operates two flagship implementation programs, each designed to advance the translation of evidence-based disease prevention into coordinated, sustainable practice.
Program One
The National Partnerships Program develops nationwide multidisciplinary implementation infrastructure that strengthens evidence-based disease prevention through strategic partnerships. Its central component is the Causeway Network — an integrated implementation ecosystem designed to connect healthcare providers, veterinarians, public health agencies, researchers, educators, employers, agricultural organizations, and community organizations into coordinated implementation partnerships.
The program is designed to be scalable and adaptable — building implementation capacity that can support multiple disease prevention priorities over time.
Program Components
The Causeway Network — national implementation partnership infrastructure
Trusted referral pathways across disciplines and sectors
Digital implementation support tools
Community engagement frameworks
Cross-sector collaboration structures
Scalable implementation systems adaptable across disease priorities
Program Two
TOPP is the inaugural disease-specific implementation pilot of the Connectus Initiative. It provides the first opportunity to design, test, evaluate, refine, and validate the Connectus implementation methodology before expanding the model to additional public health priorities.
Grounded in established evidence-based toxoplasmosis prevention recommendations, TOPP focuses on strengthening the practical systems that help those recommendations become consistently implemented across healthcare, veterinary medicine, public health, and communities — rather than generating new clinical guidelines.
As a One Health initiative, TOPP recognizes the interconnection of human, animal, and environmental health, bringing together physicians, veterinarians, public health professionals, and community stakeholders to operationalize prevention at every level.
Program Focus Areas
Provider Education
Community Education
One Health Collaboration
Congenital Toxoplasmosis Prevention
Practical Implementation Tools
Public Health Partnerships
Surveillance & Evaluation
Evidence Translation
Implementation Science
Scientific discovery improves public health only when evidence is successfully translated into routine practice.
Decades of research have established what works. The challenge today is ensuring that evidence-based recommendations are consistently implemented — across healthcare systems, veterinary practices, public health programs, workplaces, schools, and communities.
Connectus exists to strengthen that translation.
The Multidisciplinary Implementation Advisory Council is a collaborative advisory body composed of leaders representing medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, implementation science, education, agriculture, research, and community organizations.
The Council provides guidance across all Connectus implementation programs — drawing on diverse, real-world expertise to ensure that program strategies remain grounded in practical application and aligned with established evidence, rather than generating new scientific recommendations.
Evidence-Based
Every implementation system we develop is grounded in peer-reviewed research and established public health guidelines.
Implementation Science
Designing practical implementation systems that improve adoption, sustainability, and real-world application of evidence-based disease prevention recommendations.
One Health
Recognizing the interconnection of human, animal, and environmental health as essential to effective prevention.
Collaboration
Uniting physicians, veterinarians, public health professionals, agricultural partners, and community stakeholders toward shared prevention goals.
Implementation
Developing practical systems that help evidence-based recommendations become scalable and sustainable in everyday settings.
Education
Building knowledge and implementation capacity across all disciplines, sectors, and communities.
Prevention
Prioritizing upstream interventions that reduce disease burden before it occurs.
Continuous Improvement
Iterating on implementation strategies based on evidence, feedback, and real-world outcomes.
Founder, The Connectus Initiative · Founder & President, LitterGuard LLC
Christopher J. Romano is the founder of The Connectus Initiative and founder and president of LitterGuard LLC, the developer, sponsor, and operating organization of the Connectus platform. He is a public health implementation strategist and implementation systems developer with more than two decades of multidisciplinary professional experience.
Mr. Romano's career spans healthcare planning, civil engineering coordination, architecture, construction management, regulatory coordination, public infrastructure development, and implementation strategy. This breadth of experience across complex, multidisciplinary environments provided direct insight into the practical challenges of implementing evidence-based standards and protocols in real-world settings.
Working within active healthcare environments — including during the COVID-19 pandemic — reinforced the understanding that scientific evidence alone is insufficient without the practical systems, multidisciplinary coordination, and implementation infrastructure required to translate knowledge into consistent routine practice.
Those experiences led to the development of The Connectus Initiative: a scalable public health implementation platform designed to strengthen the translation of evidence-based disease prevention into coordinated, sustainable practice through multidisciplinary collaboration, implementation science, One Health partnerships, and practical implementation systems.
Professional Background
Healthcare Planning
Implementation Strategy
Architecture
Civil Engineering Coordination
Construction Management
Infrastructure Development
Regulatory Coordination
Public Health Implementation
One Health Collaboration
Founder, LitterGuard LLC
The Connectus Initiative welcomes collaboration with healthcare professionals, veterinarians, researchers, educators, implementation scientists, community organizations, public health leaders, agricultural partners, and others committed to strengthening implementation of evidence-based disease prevention.
Physicians · Veterinarians · Researchers · Public Health Professionals · Employers · Community Organizations · Educators · Implementation Scientists · Healthcare Systems · Agricultural Partners
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