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View from a State North Carolina Public Health. Population 9.5M 54,000 square miles 5 th in growth rate in US 100 counties Decentralized Public Health system 85 local health departments (county or district). Jeffrey Engel, M.D. Former State Health Director
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View from a StateNorth Carolina Public Health • Population 9.5M • 54,000 square miles • 5th in growth rate in US • 100 counties • Decentralized Public Health system • 85 local health departments (county or district) Jeffrey Engel, M.D. Former State Health Director Senior Advisor for Health Policy NC DHHS
Major Investments in PreparednessNCPH 2002-2008 • State Capacity • Epidemiology • Laboratory • Informatics • Regional Capacity • Epidemiology, Planning, Response • Laboratory • Local Capacity • Preparedness Coordinators
New Capacity in Public HealthStrategic Building of an Integrated System • State (Division of Public Health) • Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response • State Laboratory: Bioterrorism and Emerging Pathogens Program • Biosurveillance and Informatics • Syndromic surveillance system with NC Hospital Association • National Electronic Diseases Surveillance System • Regional • Regional epidemiology offices • Hospital-based epidemiologists • Regional labs (Charlotte, Asheville, Greenville)
E. coli Outbreak* at State Fair ResponseOctober 2011 North Carolina Departments of Health and Human Service and Agriculture and Consumer Services *25 ill, 6 hospitalized, 3 needing dialysis
Successful Outcome Eight days following initial reported cases
State Reductions2011 Budget • Elimination of Public Health Pest Management Program • NC no longer has any entomologists, so…. • Hurricane Irene August 2011 • Post-hurricane marsh mosquito nuisance • No state capacity to respond • Every county “on their own” • Aerial spraying costly ($100,000 per application) • FEMA reimburses 75% • Dare County sprays, Pamlico County does not
Irene: August 27, 2011 cbsnews.com, accessed Feb. 1, 2012
Recent ReductionsPHEP Grant 2008-2011 • State Position Eliminations • Two lab positions • Two epidemiologist positions • One vet position (Dept. of Agriculture) • Regional • 7 teams of 4 people down to 4 teams of 5 people (8 positions) • 13 hospital epidemiologists down to 8 (5 positions) • Local • 70% down to 25% of local health departments who can support a full-time preparedness coordinator (38 positions)
North Carolina Summary • Public Health Preparedness and Response • PH major critical infrastructure is a trained and adequate workforce • Technical resources: lab, informatics • Communication: common language (National Incident Management System), protocols and plans • Since 2008, Federal and State Reductions Resulted in Loss of 60 Positions