The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has awarded up to $25,000 each to eleven local health departments to improve coordination for preparedness and response to outbreaks of infectious diseases.
NACCHO is a national nonprofit association that represents 2,800 local health departments throughout the US—this includes city, county, metro, district, and tribal agencies. Their goal is to promote health and equity, fight disease, and generally improve the lives of citizens.
The recipients of this award will now have the capacity to test new approaches meant to prepare and respond to cases of Ebola, healthcare-associated infections, and other potential outbreaks of infectious diseases. All of this will be done with the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their Lessons in Infection Control (LINC) Initiative.
The LINC Initiative will assist local health departments in improving healthcare and community infection control practices by working in conjunction with hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare providers to identify and address relevant needs and opportunities.
The award recipients will test creative solutions that address the gaps identified during the US response to Ebola and learn to apply them in order to more effectively combat the 700,000 healthcare-associated infections the occur in the US each year. The award also sponsors local health department staff to achieve infection control certification.
“Those of us in public health are learning hard lessons about preparation and response to healthcare-associated infections and diseases, including Ebola and Zika: that concerted coordination, preparation, and response are the keys to keeping our communities healthy. The LINC awards will go a long way in giving these eleven local health departments the freedom and ability to create strategic partnerships that will outlast the life of the grant,” said Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, MD, MPH, executive director of NACCHO.
The following local health departments received the award:
- Barren River District Health Department (KY)
- Clark County Public Health (WA)
- Eau Claire City-County Health Department (WI)
- El Paso County Health Department (CO)
- Flathead City-County Health Department (MT)
- Florida DOH Pasco County Kent County Health Department (MI)
- Marion County Public Health Department (IN)
- Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (WV)
- Public Health – Seattle & King County (WA)
- St. Louis City Department of Health (MO)
The awardees will implement this project throughout 2016.
