School-based Illnesses and Outbreaks
College Student Hospitalized with
Meningococcal Meningitis
New United Board of Health Meets on
March 13th
Joint Commission's Final Report on
Clinics' Quality of Care
Smallpox Vaccinations Begin for
Certain Health Workers (Phase I)
Fiscal Year-End Audit Report
Phase II Storm Water Management
Program
Other News
School-based Illnesses and Outbreaks
Since January, District
epidemiologists continued to receive reports of
increased school absenteeism for flu-like symptoms,
diarrhea, and sore throats . Spot testing confirmed the
presence of both influenza A and B in the community.
Other reports have confirmed the presence of
Streptococcal infections. At this point, it appears that
flu, Strep throat, and other illnesses are tapering down
in our local schools but morbidity and absenteeism are
still substantial. For more information, contact Chuck
Chambers, District Epidemiologist, at (409) 765-2514,
cchambers@gchd.org.
College
Student Hospitalized with Meningococcal Meningitis
On February 13, a college student at Texas A & M
University was hospitalized for meningococcal
meningitis. District staff worked with UTMB staff to
identify close contacts and arrange for them to receive
preventive antibiotics. In addition, the District
disseminated health alerts to the medical community,
responded to media inquiries, and met with officials at
the Texas A & M University Campus to help alleviate
concerns and to provide
educational materials for the student body For more
information, contact Chuck Chambers, District
Epidemiologist, at (409) 765-2514,
cchambers@gchd.org; or Dr. Mark Guidry, Executive
Director, at (409) 938-2401, mguidry@gchd.org.
New United
Board of Health Meets on March 13th
In mid February, the District
received confirmation of the appointments of nine (9)
new members of the United Board of Health. The nine new
members will join four existing members for their first
meeting on March 13th. The first meeting was rescheduled
to March 13th to accommodate the schedules of the newly
appointed members. District staff have prepared a brief
orientation program which will include a tour of
facilities and offices in the county. For more
information, contact Gay Lane, Administrative Officer to
the Board, at (409) 938-2401,glane@gchd.org;
or Dr. Mark Guidry, Executive Director, at (409)
938-2401,mguidry@gchd.org.
Joint Commission's Final Report on Clinics' Quality of
Care
This month, the District received
the final report from the
Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations JCAHO; The final report follows the
District's JCAHO evaluation on January 16th and 17th,
when the District was given a recommended (preliminary)
score of 91. The final report of February 11th confirms
the complimentary score of 91 as well as outlines areas
for future improvement. A newly comprised Clinic
Leadership Team will review the findings and develop a
plan to address recommended improvements in the
following areas: (1) Continuum of Care, (2) Aggregation
and Analysis, (3) Planning and Design of Services, (4)
Directing Services, (5) Orientation, Training, and
Education of Staff, and (6) Information Management
Planning. The District is required to submit a written
progress report on these topics by August 11, 2003. For
more information, contact Susan Studebaker, RN, CHES,
Deputy Director for Clinical Services, at (409)
949-3406, sstudebaker@gchd.org.
Smallpox Vaccinations Begin for Certain Health Workers
(Phase I)
In the absence of any cases of smallpox in the US,
voluntary small pox vaccinations began for district
staff and health workers in area hospitals who might be
responsible for providing care to potential cases of
smallpox. The vaccinations for district staff should be
completed by the first week of March, and the
vaccinations of hospital workers are expected to be
completed by the end of April. Up to 300 individuals in
the county may be vaccinated in this first phase of
public health planning. Plans for future phases, which
tentatively extend to 2004, would involve the voluntary
vaccination of more health workers and the general
public, respectively. District staff have responded to
media inquiries and have provided a more detailed
briefing to the
Galveston County Commissioners' Court on Monday,
February 24th regarding the federal funding for public
health preparedness and its planning for smallpox
vaccinations. For more information, contact Jay Holland,
III, Chief Operating Officer, (409) 938-2260, jholland@gchd.org; or Dr. Mark Guidry, Executive
Director, at (409) 938-2401,
mguidry@gchd.org
Fiscal Year-End Audit Report
Independent auditors completed the
District year-end fiscal audit for the time period of
Oct 1st, 2001 through Sept 30th, 2002. The single agency
audit is required by state and federal law. This month,
auditors reviewed the preliminary report with executive
staff. The final report will be presented to both health
boards at their next meetings. The preliminary audit
findings showed no material weaknesses and five
reportable conditions for which corrective actions have
already been taken. For more information contact, Kathy
Barroso, (409) 938-2257, kbarroso@gchd.org
Phase II Storm Water Management Program
The federal Environmental Protection Agency will
require most municipalities in the district and
Galveston County to implement measures to control storm
water runoff and protect water resources. Impacted
jurisdictions will be required to apply for a storm
water permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality to allow discharges into and out of conveyance
systems. Minimum control measures that jurisdictions
will be required to implement over a five (5) year
period include: public education, public involvement,
illicit discharge detection and elimination, pollution
prevention and good housekeeping at municipal
operations, construction site storm water runoff, and
post-construction storm water management. The Galveston
County Cooperative Storm Water Management Committee is
working to draft unified recommendations among required
cities and the county to include a cooperative plan to
identify resources needed to comply with this unfunded
federal mandate. District staff briefed the Galveston
County Commissioner's Court on Monday, February 24,
2003, and expects to submit committee recommendation to
the District's United Board of Health at a future
meeting. For additional information, please contact
Ronnie Schultz, Director of Pollution Control, at (409)
938-2314, rschultz@gchd.org
Other News
- Shirley Carr, Nursing
Director,
received a statewide nursing leadership award
for "significant and innovative contributions to the
health care of Texans, having increased the status
and public recognition of community health nursing
as a whole and who have positively influenced the
practice of nursing in Texas"
-
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded
nearly $125,000 to the Galveston County Health
District to improve the quality of life for
diabetics
- Umair Shah, MD, MPH
assumed the responsibilities of 4 C's Clinic Medical
Director on February 17, 2003. He brings to the
District both medicine and public health expertise
which will help lead the 4C's Clinics and maintain
the important relationship to public health in the
community. His office is located at 2000 Texas
Avenue, Texas City, and he can be reached at (409)
949-3406, ushah@gchd.org.
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