Public Health Practices

After Lawrence County in southern Illinois experienced severe flooding in 2008, planners built GIS maps using community data to develop a strategy for future emergency events.

Hurricane Ike damaged or destroyed 70% of Galveston, Texas’ residential and commercial buildings when it struck the barrier island in September 2008. Pre-storm poverty levels and poor health and social indicators made it challenging for community members to bounce back quickly. In the post-storm political and planning environment, decision makers were afforded the opportunity to address social determinants of health and the impact of policies on health.  

Following the first wave of H1N1, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) formed six planning groups to prepare for a second wave of the pandemic in fall 2009. These planning groups addressed essential target capabilities: surveillance and laboratory, clinical guidance, medical surge, continuity of operations, risk communication, and countermeasure administration.

During fall 2009, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) faced the challenge of coordinating vaccine supplies to providers, as well as serving as the focal point for questions and current information related to novel H1N1 influenza.

North Carolina's hospital-based Public Health Epidemiologist (PHE) Program significantly aided the state H1N1 response and is credited with improving public health infrastructure and shortening emergency response time.

Hawaii's existing school surveillance alerted health officials of changing disease patterns early during the outbreak. This, combined with its established school-located vaccination clinics, significantly aided its H1N1 response effort.

The fall resurgence of 2009 novel H1N1 influenza contributed to a large number of schools being dismissed across Michigan. In early October, there was a dramatic increase in reports of influenza like illness (ILI) and confirmed influenza cases in Michigan.By mid-October, the ILI activity had peaked and had contributed to a dramatic increase in absenteeism-related school closures. Over the next six weeks there were over 550 school closures in the state.

Rhode Island state health officials are tracking the spread of H1N1 influenza through electronic prescription records, which are believed to help doctors more easily identify an outbreak of the illness. The tracking is enabled by the state's success with e-prescribing and the digital healthcare infrastructure available through its partnership with Surescripts, an electronic prescription network.

In the initial days of the H1N1 pandemic, North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health used two existing systems, the NC Laboratory Response Forum (LRF) and Micronet, to communicate and plan H1N1 response.