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Zika Virus Preparedness and Response Efforts Through the Collaboration Between a Health Care Delivery System and a Local Public Health Department

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2018

Syra Madad*
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Emergency Management, New York, New York
Anna Tate
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Emergency Management, New York, New York New York City Health + Hospitals, New York, New York New York City Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst, New York NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Maytal Rand
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Emergency Management, New York, New York New York City Health + Hospitals, New York, New York New York City Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst, New York NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Celia Quinn
Affiliation:
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Neil M. Vora
Affiliation:
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Machelle Allen
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, New York, New York
Nicholas V. Cagliuso Sr.
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Emergency Management, New York, New York
Jennifer L. Rakeman
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Emergency Management, New York, New York
Sean Studer
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, New York, New York
Joseph Masci
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst, New York
Jay K. Varma
Affiliation:
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ross Wilson
Affiliation:
New York City Health + Hospitals, New York, New York
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, New York City Health + Hospitals, 125 Worth Street, Suite 412, New York, NY 10013 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Abstract

The Zika virus was largely unknown to many health care systems before the outbreak of 2015. The unique public health threat posed by the Zika virus and the evolving understanding of its pathology required continuous communication between a health care delivery system and a local public health department. By leveraging an existing relationship, NYC Health+Hospitals worked closely with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to ensure that Zika-related processes and procedures within NYC Health+Hospitals facilities aligned with the most current Zika virus guidance. Support given by the public health department included prenatal clinical and laboratory support and the sharing of data on NYC Health+Hospitals Zika virus screening and testing rates, thus enabling this health care delivery system to make informed decisions and practices. The close coordination, collaboration, and communication between the health care delivery system and the local public health department examined in this article demonstrate the importance of working together to combat a complex public health emergency and how this relationship can serve as a guide for other jurisdictions to optimize collaboration between external partners during major outbreaks, emerging threats, and disasters that affect public health. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:689-691)

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2018 

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References

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