scholarly journals 2018 Zika Health Brigade: Delivering Critical Health Screening in the U.S. Virgin Islands

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Shana Godfred-Cato ◽  
S. Nicole Fehrenbach ◽  
Megan R. Reynolds ◽  
Romeo R. Galang ◽  
Dan Schoelles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Maternal Child Health ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Screening Services

In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused significant damage to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), heightening the challenges many residents faced in accessing adequate healthcare and receiving recommended Zika virus screening services. To address this challenge, the USVI Department of Health (DOH) requested technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to organize a health brigade to bring needed medical care to an underserved population. It also established the development of important partnerships between federal and private partners as well as between clinical providers and public health entities such as the Epidemiology & Disease Reporting, Maternal Child Health (MCH), and Infant and Toddlers Programs within the DOH, and local clinicians. This health brigade model could be replicated to ensure recommended evaluations are delivered to populations that may have unmet medical needs due to the complexity of the conditions and/or rural location.

scholarly journals Key Program Findings and Insights From the Baby-Friendly Hawaii Project

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahra A. Kahin ◽  
Meghan McGurk ◽  
Heidi Hansen-Smith ◽  
Margaret West ◽  
Ruowei Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Maternity Care ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Infant Nutrition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Optimal Method ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

Background: Breastfeeding is the optimal method for infant feeding. In the United States, 81.1% of mothers initiate breastfeeding; however, only 44.4% and 22.3% of mothers are exclusively breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months, respectively. Research aim: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidance and funding to state health departments to support strategies to improve breastfeeding policies and practices in the hospital, community, and worksite settings. In 2010, the Hawaii State Department of Health received support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch the Baby-Friendly Hawaii Project (BFHP) to increase the number of Hawaii hospitals that provide maternity care consistent with the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and increase the rate of women who remain exclusively breastfeeding throughout their hospital stay. Methods: For this article, we examined the BFHP’s final evaluation report and Hawaii breastfeeding and maternity care data to identify the role of the BFHP in facilitating improvements in maternity care practices and breastfeeding rates. Results: Since 2010, 52 hospital site visits, 58 trainings, and ongoing technical assistance were administered, and more than 750 staff and health professionals from BFHP hospitals were trained. Hawaii’s overall quality composite Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care score increased from 65 (out of 100) in 2009 to 76 in 2011 and 80 in 2013, and Newborn Screening Data showed an increase in statewide exclusive breastfeeding from 59.7% in 2009 to 77.0% in 2014. Conclusion: Implementation and findings from the BFHP can inform future planning at the state and federal levels on maternity care practices that can improve breastfeeding.

Utilization of Military Support in the Response to Hurricane Marilyn: Implications for Future Military-Civilian Cooperation

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Weddle ◽  
Hugo Prado-Monje
Keyword(s):  
Department Of Defense ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Hurricane Andrew ◽  
Disaster Assistance ◽  
Military Support ◽  
Civilian Managers

AbstractIntroduction:The past decade has been a period of evolution for the Federal disaster response system within the United States. Two domestic hurricanes were pivotal events that influenced the methods used for organizing Federal disaster assistance. The lessons of Hurricane Hugo (1989) and Hurricane Andrew (1992) were incorporated into the successful response to Hurricane Marilyn in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1995. Following each of these storms, the Department of Defense was a major component of the response by the health sector. Despite progress in many areas, lack of clear communication between military and civilian managers and confusion among those requesting Department of Defense health resources may remain as obstacles to rapid response.Methods:This discussion is based on an unpublished case report utilizing interviews with military and civilian managers involved in the Hurricane Marilyn response.Results:The findings suggest that out-of-channel pathways normally utilized in the warning and emergency phase of the response remained operational after more formal civilian-military communication pathways and local assessment capability had been established.Conclusion:It is concluded that delays may be avoided if the system in place was to make all active pathways for the request and validation of military resources visible to the designated Federal managers located within the area of operations.

Engaging the Third Estate: The Transplant Growth and Management Collaborative

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Dowell ◽  
Anthony Dawson ◽  
Virginia McBride
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Organ Donors ◽  
Volume Increase ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

The Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaboratives that occurred within the United States from 2004 to 2008 helped contribute to a significant increase in organ donors and transplants across the country. Centers were needed to accommodate and maintain this increase in capacity to perform successful transplantations for candidates on the waiting list. The Transplant Growth and Management Collaborative was created to help fulfill this new performance level expectation. In 2007 the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration published a best-practice report based on high-performing centers that experienced a significant increase in volume while maintaining expected, or higher than expected, outcomes. The report produced a change package that outlined common strategies, key change concepts, and actions used at the best-practice centers that could be adapted by other transplant programs by using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to test the impact of the changes. This change package and use of the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles formed the foundation of the Collaborative that occurred from October 2007 through October 2008 to spread best practices to transplant programs willing to commit to making changes that could result in a 20% increase in transplant volume. More than 120 transplant centers participated at some point in the Collaborative. Although preliminary results of the Collaborative show that only a few participating programs achieved the 20% volume increase goal, many participating centers reported putting successful models in place for each of the strategies identified in the best-practice change package.

scholarly journals (A169) Strategic National Stockpile: American Preparedness to a Domestic Biological Attack

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s59-s59
Author(s):  
A.E. Piombino
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Public Health Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Strategic National Stockpile

This session offers an overview of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), including CHEM PACK. Managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “push-packs” of this critical federal cache of pharmaceuticals and medical materiel are at sites located throughout the country. The CDC's CRI is a federally funded program designed to compliment the SNS and enhance preparedness in the nation's largest cities and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) where more than 50% of the US population resides. Through CRI, state and large metropolitan public health departments continue refining plans to respond to a large-scale bioterrorism attack by dispensing antibiotics to the entire population of an identified MSA with 48 hours. The SNS Technical Assistance Review (TAR) will be reviewed, as well as best practices and lessons learned from successful public health emergency preparedness and response programs throughout the US.

Technical Assistance and Tobacco Control

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6_suppl_2) ◽  
pp. 114S-117S
Author(s):  
Kabi Pokhrel ◽  
Julie Caine
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Tobacco Control Program ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Control And Prevention

Ursula Bauer, PhD, MPH, currently directs the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also worked in the New York Department of Health as Director of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention and as Director of the Tobacco Control Program. In this interview, she shares her perspectives on the importance of technical assistance in tobacco control.

scholarly journals Effects of New York’s Executive Order on Face Mask Use on COVID-19 Infections and Mortality: A Modeling Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingwang Shen ◽  
Jian Zu ◽  
Christopher K. Fairley ◽  
José A. Pagán ◽  
Bart Ferket ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Compartmental Model ◽  
Mental Hygiene ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Order ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Control And Prevention

ABSTRACTBackgroundNew York City (NYC) was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. On April 17, 2020, the State of New York implemented an Executive Order that requires all people in New York to wear a face mask or covering in public settings where social distancing cannot be maintained. It is unclear how this Executive Order has affected the spread of COVID-19 in NYC.MethodsA dynamic compartmental model of COVID-19 transmission among NYC residents was developed to assess the effect of the Executive Order on face mask use on infections and deaths due to COVID-19 in NYC. Data on daily and cumulative COVID-19 infections and deaths were obtained from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.ResultsThe Executive Order on face mask use is estimated to avert 99,517 (95% CIs: 72,723-126,312) COVID-19 infections and 7,978 (5,692-10,265) deaths in NYC. If the Executive Order was implemented one week earlier (on April 10), the averted infections and deaths would be 111,475 (81,593-141,356) and 9,017 (6,446-11,589), respectively. If the Executive Order was implemented two weeks earlier (on April 3 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended face mask use), the averted infections and deaths would be 128,598 (94,373-162,824) and 10,515 (7,540-13,489), respectively.ConclusionsNew York’s Executive Order on face mask use is projected to have significantly reduced the spread of COVID-19 in NYC. Implementing the Executive Order at an earlier date would avert even more COVID-19 infections and deaths.

scholarly journals Expanding Pharmacy Capacity for Patient-Centered Reproductive Health Services

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Anna Pfaff ◽  
Sally Rafie
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Emergency Contraception ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Hormonal Contraception ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reproductive Health Services ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
National Quality

In the United States, patients face increasing practical barriers and concerns about stigma when seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare, specifically family planning services involving hormonal contraception, emergency contraception, and abortion. The pharmacist is a member of the interprofessional care team with the ability to provide non-judgmental, high-quality, and patient-centered care. The community pharmacy setting itself offers specific advantages which promote access, including availability in most neighborhoods, broad hours of operation, lack of need for an appointment, and a stigma-free space which is frequented for other goods and services. This commentary suggests specific ways for pharmacies to improve access to contraception, emergency contraception, and abortion in line with national quality recommendations. Particular focus is given to the intersection of sexual and reproductive health resources and referrals within the pharmacy profession as well as the training and technical assistance tools which can help address unmet patient need.

scholarly journals Genetic characterization of the Zika virus epidemic in the US Virgin Islands

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Black ◽  
Barney Potter ◽  
Gytis Dudas ◽  
Leora Feldstein ◽  
Nathan D Grubaugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Draft Genome ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Us

AbstractHere we release draft genome sequences of Zika virus (ZIKV) that were sequenced from PCR-positive diagnostic specimens collected by the United States Virgin Islands Department of Health (USVI DoH) as part of their ongoing response to the ZIKV outbreak. We will use these sequences to conduct a genomic epidemiological study of ZIKV transmission in the USVI. We are releasing these genomes in the hope that they are useful for those individuals involved in the public health response to ZIKV and to other groups working to understand Zika virus transmission and evolution.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. v-xx
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
The Government ◽  
Initial Attitude ◽  
Health Organization

At the dawn of the devastating events of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the editorial of the first issue of 2020, as well as in the articles, topics related to the overwhelming impact of the emerging crisis were explored (Van der Maesen 2020). In particular, reference was made to the topical performances of the federal governments of the United States and Brazil, as well as the British government. As an introduction to this special issue, it is interesting to recall and extend some of the observations that were made last year.In the case of the United States, when COVID-19 appeared, the hazards of the virus were downplayed and even neglected. The president countered the opinion of public health experts with false, misleading comparisons to other countries (Qiu 2020). It was proposed to cut the budget of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention by 16 percent starting in October 2020. Long-lasting contacts and collaboration with the World Health Organization were broken. Due to export restrictions on medical products, importing countries were unable to obtain sufficient medical equipment, resulting in a shortage in healthcare equipment that had to be made for up via a mandatory increase in local production. This came at a high cost and with serious delays (Krueger 2020). For the United States itself, the initial attitude of the government resulted in a dramatic blow to its public health resources and capabilities. The quality of hundreds of health departments around the country suggests that the nation may be less prepared for the next pandemic than it was for the current one (Baker and Ivory 2021). The violence toward public health professions is gradually taking shape (Schreiber 2021). An overriding societal pattern, which in the United States undermines the principles of effective public health, is the primacy of personal rights over collective responsibility and solidarity. More than half of US states have introduced new laws to restrict public health measures, including policies requiring quarantine and mandating vaccines and/or masks.

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