Public Health Grand Rounds discusses how to prepare for pandemic influenza
| CHAPEL HILL – Public health experts are predicting that the impact of pandemic influenza will be felt in every community by every citizen. Hospitals will be overwhelmed and pharmaceutical interventions will be in short supply. Critical infrastructure such as transportation, commerce, utilities, and public safety will be disrupted.
On Friday, September 29, a program of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks at “Pandemic Flu Preparedness: What Every Community Should Know”. With the specter of simultaneous outbreaks occurring over large geographic regions, communities will have to rely on local resources and coordinate their preparedness activities across all sectors is one premise of the program. Those networks and relationships have to be established to communicate and manage the risks, now and during the pandemic. The program airs via satellite downlink and the Internet from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET, part of the Public Health Grand Rounds broadcast series. The Grand Round format is to present a case study to be reviewed by a panel of experts. The September 29th show will examine the case of California’s Santa Clara County, where the community is preparing for a pandemic and its challenges to their public health system. Dr. Hugh Tilson, a clinical professor at the UNC School of Public Health, points out, “Where ever a community finds itself on the spectrum of preparedness for all hazards in general and for pandemic influenza in particular, this case is a ‘must watch’! Santa Clara County has put together some highly innovative and effective approaches.” Joining Tilson on the panel will be Dr. Stephen C. Redd, co-coordinator of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Influenza Team and Dr. Leah Devlin, State Health Director for North Carolina. The panel is moderated by Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Medicine and CEO of the UNC Health Care System. Viewers may submit questions to the panel at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online. For those not accessing the Web cast, health departments, agencies and educational centers across the country will offer local viewing sites via satellite downlink. Continuing education credit for various health professions will be offered based on one hour of instruction. Following the broadcast in Chapel Hill, various speakers will continue the discussion about pandemic influenza preparation at the School of Public Health’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield Auditorium in the Michael Hooker Research Center. Speakers include Dr. Pia MacDonald, director of the N.C. Center for Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Kristina Simeonsson, Medical Epidemiologist, General Communicable Disease Branch of the North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services, and Pete Reinhardt, director of UNC’s Environment, Health, and Safety department. Dr. Ed Baker, director of the N.C. Institute for Public Health, will serve as moderator. Previous Public Health Grand Rounds topics have included bioterrorism, asthma, autism, genetics, breast cancer screening, disaster preparedness, West Nile Virus, SARS, obesity, urban sprawl, vaccine shortages, tobacco prevention and food safety. Public Health Grand Rounds is a program of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH). The Institute links the UNC School of Public Health with those working in public health. It directs numerous training programs and conferences as well as provides consulting services to local health departments and other health organizations. NCIPH joins academia and the field in the latest public health initiatives like genomics, homeland security, and community design to combat obesity. North Carolina Institute for Public Health contacts: Bev Holt, 919-966-6274, bev_holt@unc.edu and Lisa Morris, 919-843-9261 or lamorris@email.unc.edu School of Public Healthcontact: Ramona DuBose, 919-966-7467, ramona_dubose@unc.edu |
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