NC DHHS: Employee Newsletter

Public Health Division garners two national awards

Two Division of Public Health programs – a school health initiative and an HIV testing program – will receive first- and second-place “Vision” awards, respectively, at the annual conference of the national Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) on July 14 in Boston.

Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the ASTHO Vision Awards are presented each year to honor outstanding, creative programs and initiatives in state health departments.

The $2,500 first-place cash award will go to the School Health Matrix Team, which was created in summer 2002 by State Health Director Leah Devlin. Now headed by Dorothy Caldwell, the Matrix Team brings together all of the division resources dedicated to the health of students, and includes staff from four different sections and nine branches and units. The team also works closely with Healthy Schools staff at the Department of Public Instruction to ensure the effectiveness of their joint efforts to improve children’s health. Public Health’s previous school health efforts were fragmented by a more rigid structure that created barriers to collaboration and communication.

This new, coordinated effort experienced a dramatic success in 2004, when the N.C. General Assembly approved funding appropriations of $5 million to hire 145 new public school nurses over the next several years.

The second place award of $1,500 will go to the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch for its HIV Screening and Tracing Active Transmission (STAT) program. Initiated in 2002 under the leadership of branch head Evelyn Foust, the N.C. STAT program uses innovative nucleic acid amplification testing to identify early (acute) HIV infection, notifies cases and their contacts, and provides immediate clinical care.

STAT has proven to be an efficient, reliable and cost-effective method of identifying acute HIV and has helped shift the focus of HIV testing from treatment to prevention. The cost is small; the new testing program increased the state’s overall costs of HIV testing and surveillance by only about 3 percent, or $3.63 per specimen.

The STAT program has three major advantages over traditional testing programs. First, quick recognition of early HIV infection allows for immediate clinical management. Second, the identification of persons with early HIV infection, when the disease is often most contagious, can help prevent further transmission of the virus. Third, the identification of acute infections can improve HIV surveillance.

Because of their effectiveness and their ability to be replicated, both the STAT Program and the School Health Matrix Team have quickly become national models.

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	The July 2005 newsletter, print version Use this version to print and distribute the newsletter. It is in Adobe Acrobat. If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, download it for free. Past Issues
	The July 2005 issue, online version.
	Public Health Division garners two national awards:Two Division of Public Health programs – a school health initiative and an HIV testing program – will receive first- and second-place “Vision” awards, respectively, at the annual conference of the national Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) on July 14 in Boston. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the ASTHO Vision Awards are presented each year to honor outstanding, creative programs and initiatives in state health departments.	N.C. loses esteemed rural health care leader: Jim Bernstein, a former assistant secretary with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and a national leader in the improvement of rural health care, died Sunday of bladder cancer. He was 62. ¡Salud y Saludos!: Water safety remains a safety issue for Latinos. Paula Bird named a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow: Dix Director of Nursing Paula Bird is one of 20 nurses in executive leadership roles nationwide selected as 2005 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows. The prestigious program focuses on redesigning the nation’s health care system for the 21st century.
	Grant helps with housing needs for people with disabilities
	NCSD art shown at exhibit Salmonella illness on rise in North Carolina: Nearly five times as many cases of the food-borne illness Salmonella enteritidis have been detected by the State Laboratory of Public Health so far this year as compared to the first six months in 2004.	Schools graduate students: The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton (NCSD) and the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf in Wilson (ENCSD) held graduation ceremonies May 24 for the Class of 2005. Hot cars, kids a deadly mix Adoption Profile: Introducing Jalisa...


	Public Health Division garners two national awards Two Division of Public Health programs – a school health initiative and an HIV testing program – will receive first- and second-place “Vision” awards, respectively, at the annual conference of the national Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) on July 14 in Boston. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the ASTHO Vision Awards are presented each year to honor outstanding, creative programs and initiatives in state health departments. The $2,500 first-place cash award will go to the School Health Matrix Team, which was created in summer 2002 by State Health Director Leah Devlin. Now headed by Dorothy Caldwell, the Matrix Team brings together all of the division resources dedicated to the health of students, and includes staff from four different sections and nine branches and units. The team also works closely with Healthy Schools staff at the Department of Public Instruction to ensure the effectiveness of their joint efforts to improve children’s health. Public Health’s previous school health efforts were fragmented by a more rigid structure that created barriers to collaboration and communication. This new, coordinated effort experienced a dramatic success in 2004, when the N.C. General Assembly approved funding appropriations of $5 million to hire 145 new public school nurses over the next several years. The second place award of $1,500 will go to the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch for its HIV Screening and Tracing Active Transmission (STAT) program. Initiated in 2002 under the leadership of branch head Evelyn Foust, the N.C. STAT program uses innovative nucleic acid amplification testing to identify early (acute) HIV infection, notifies cases and their contacts, and provides immediate clinical care. STAT has proven to be an efficient, reliable and cost-effective method of identifying acute HIV and has helped shift the focus of HIV testing from treatment to prevention. The cost is small; the new testing program increased the state’s overall costs of HIV testing and surveillance by only about 3 percent, or $3.63 per specimen. The STAT program has three major advantages over traditional testing programs. First, quick recognition of early HIV infection allows for immediate clinical management. Second, the identification of persons with early HIV infection, when the disease is often most contagious, can help prevent further transmission of the virus. Third, the identification of acute infections can improve HIV surveillance. Because of their effectiveness and their ability to be replicated, both the STAT Program and the School Health Matrix Team have quickly become national models.

	Last Modified: .

The July 2005 newsletter, print version

Past Issues

The July 2005 issue, online version.

Public Health Division garners two national awards