Transcript The Role of Public Health

Partnerships for
Pandemic & Bioterrorism
Incidents
Ryan Moeller
Emergency Preparedness & Response Coordinator
Williamson County and Cities Health District
Amy Thompson
Public Health Preparedness Planner
Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Dept
CDC Funds Public Health for Bioterrorism,
Emerging Infectious Diseases and other
Public Health Emergencies
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Develop BT/Pandemic Response Plans
Conduct Exercises
Upgrade Disease Surveillance and Investigation
Enhance Public Health Laboratory Capability
Develop Risk Communication Capacity
The Role of Public Health
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Early detection through epidemiology
surveillance/ rapid assessment of reports
Implement disease specific plans (e.g. Smallpox)
Rapid confirmation of agent, site, initial at-risk
population, prophylaxis and/or treatment
Alert medical community, ERs, labs
Determine resource needs and possible
quarantine
Coordinate with partner agencies
(local/state/national)
The Role of Public Health
Closely monitor communication network for
new information
 Provide, accurate, timely information to public
 Continue epidemiologic investigation to refine
at risk population
 Assess environmental contamination
 Provide or coordinate testing/ prophylaxis/
treatment to at-risk population
 Access biological stockpiles as necessary
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Health Dept Partnership with ISD’s
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Texas Vaccine for Children’s Program
Annual School Nurse Conference
Exercises
Central Texas School Safety Consortium
H1N1 Response
Texas Vaccine for Children Program
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Provides vaccine for underinsured and
uninsured children
ISD’s provide schools for vaccine clinics
ISD nurses conduct the vaccination clinics
Annual School Nurse Conference
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Sponsored by Williamson County & Cities HD
CEU’s for Nursing Staff
Exercises
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6 ISD’s participated
Simultaneous vaccination operations
4000 doses of influenza vaccine
Central Texas School Safety
Consortium
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School Safety Mangers
School Nurses
Police Dept
Fire Dept
Public Health
H1N1 Response
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Utilized staffing agency
Conducted vaccination ops in schools
Already had vaccination experience
Vaccinated priority pop
Partnerships to Build On
Surveillance and Epidemiological Response ~
to identify and contain disease outbreaks, and trends
Community Preparedness Planning ~
to identify and serve populations requiring
preparedness support
Surveillance and Epi-Response
Public Health~
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tracks diagnoses and
indicators
identifies trends and
anomalies
responds to outbreaks
with epidemiological
investigations
ISDs~
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Provide information on
reportable diseases (TB,
pertussis etc.)
Report surges in school
nurse case load (Food Born
Illness, FBI)
Report on absenteeism rates,
surges
Recent Examples
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H1N1~ ISDs reported Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and
daily absenteeism rates to PH/ EOC
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FBI at school ~ Outbreak involving dozens of
individuals at a statewide conference; likely agent
identified through epi-investigation; attendees and
school facility advised accordingly
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Pertussis ~ Confirmed case at an ISD; LHA provided
official advisory/ guidance for parents
H1N1 School Absenteeism Rates
Epi-Curve of FBI
Health Authority Advisory
Mutually Beneficial Outcomes
(Surveillance)
Public Health~
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More community data =
greater capacity to
identify emerging disease
Increased disease
reporting = improved
efficiency of response
efforts (epi and
prophylaxis)
ISDs~
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Improved PH analysis/
capacity = safer and
healthier students and staff
Improved efficiency of PH
response = decrease in
incident
Public Health Community
Preparedness Planning
Public Health ~
 Ensure base-line immunity
through vaccination
programs
 Develop educational
materials and
opportunities to prepare
community for health
events
 Deliver targeted outreach
to at- risk communities
ISDs/ TEA ~
 Promote student
awareness/ preparedness
 Provide insight on local
demographics and
community support needs
 Provide de-identified data
to fill in census gaps
Examples
Alternate Language Outreach Materials ~
to inform linguistically isolated communities
Public Health Information of Network (PHIN) ~
to improve awareness of public health concerns
Teen Citizen Emergency Response Teams (CERT) ~
to promote preparedness skills in the student body
Vulnerable Populations/ Functional Needs Studies ~
to identify and support the needs of the whole community
Identifying Outreach Targets
(Vulnerable Populations and Functional Needs)
Mutually Beneficial Outcomes
(Community Preparedness)
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Better prepared and more engaged student
body
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Healthier student body/ community
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Decreased rate of incidents
Suggested Goals for Continued
LHD/ISD Collaboration
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Continue to build on mass clinic planning
Ensure that SROs and RNs are connected to LHDs (e.g.
PHIN participation)
Standardize procedures for routine sharing of statistics and
de-identified data (on absenteeism, functional needs of
student population, etc.)
Develop and deliver preparedness outreach materials designed
to meet the unique needs of the community
Collaborate with emergency management on internship and
teen CERT opportunities