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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Contributions concerning agency news, as well as personal interest stories, can be submitted via e-mail to Kathy Graff. All submitted materials become the property of InsideDPH and subject to review and modification by the InsideDPH editorial staff.

The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Inside This Issue Keeping the Tradition Going CMHP Annual Meeting Beyond Angelina Jolie… Inquiring Minds Want to Know QI Corner: Learning to Lead Hands For Life-2013 HEARTSafe Program NHANES Visits Connecticut A Gift of Life Awards and Accolades Transforming IT to Better Service the

Agency DPH Retirees & New Employees CT Joins National Newborn

Screening Month Commissioner Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, MPA Deputy Commissioners Lisa A. Davis, MBA, BSN, RN Katharine Lewis, PHD, MSN, MPH, RN Inside DPH Committee Kathy Graff, Publisher Jean Speck, Editor Heather Linardos, Assistant Editor Michelle Hanson Hope Mitchell

Keeping the Tradition Going By Kathy Graff

Since its inception nine years ago, “Inside DPH” has grown by leaps and bounds. The original concept came from Dr. Norma D. Gyle, former Deputy Commissioner of CTDPH. Dr. Gyle wanted something that would be written “for the people, by the people” of DPH. She was looking for something that would be informatively engaging and somewhat entertaining to DPH staff. It just wasn’t enough to inform others in our agency of how each program functioned and what their purpose was. Dr. Gyle also wanted to share the accomplishments and successes of each program AND individuals within those programs, both professional and personal. I liked that. That’s one of the reasons why I signed up. Here are some historical facts about Inside DPH. The first issue was published in July of 2004 and was two pages long. In November of 2004 it grew to six pages. By February 2007 we were up to 13 pages. Over the years as Kevin Sullivan (whom I greatly miss) and I worked together, we found it increasingly difficult (but necessary) to postpone submissions because we were bordering on 20 pages in some issues. This is how successful the newsletter has become. My favorite part has always been putting together Awards and Accolades. There have been so many personal and professional achievements over the years by many of you. Not to mention the babies. That’s right, I said babies. At one point there were so many baby announcements I was beginning to think there was something in the water here at DPH. Babies are always a great achievement! Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of Inside DPH. So, in keeping with the original idea of the newsletter, I would like to invite all of you to be a part of it. Please keep those program updates and accomplishments coming (and the babies of course). This newsletter would not exist if it were not for you.

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

I would also like to introduce you to the new Inside DPH committee. I am very grateful for their volunteerism. They are, Michelle Hanson from the Lab, Heather Linardos from HIV Surveillance, Hope Mitchell of the Family Health Section and Jean Speck from OEMS. They all come with their own expertise to help continue the great tradition of Inside DPH. I thank Dr. Gyle for implementing Inside DPH. It’s not just about information, but positive reinforcement to the rest of us that what we really do here at DPH works and each one of us makes a crucial contribution to this agency. Sometimes we get so busy with our jobs we don’t stop to say thank you, give a word of encouragement or tell someone we work with how valuable they are to the team. These positive reinforcements help a lot throughout our careers and our daily lives. And that’s what Inside DPH strives for.

Inc., was also presented with a leadership award for his leadership and commitment to the CMHP. The CMHP also announced the election of a new chair, Stacey Brown, Director, Community Based Education, UCONN Health Center School of Medicine (seen at right) Afternoon workshops included: 1) Language Access - The importance of Cultural and Language Competency; 2) Facing Race/Racism - An informative presentation on the critical nature of working together to address race to improve and enhance health disparity's work and the Partnership’s commitment to this work; 3) The Patient Medical Home Model (PMHM) with Behavioral Health Considerations - A follow-up to last year's session describing the PMHM and how behavioral health fits into this model; and 4) State (CT) Specific Health Reform Programs and their impact on Health Disparities - CT has its own unique initiatives with respect to health reform/changes. This session described their impact and potential impact on health disparities. For more information about the CMHP please contact Angela Jimenez.

CT Multicultural Health Partnership Annual Meeting by Angela Jimenez

The Connecticut Multicultural Health Partnership (CMHP) held their Annual Meeting on June 20, 2013 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Over 100 participants from partner agencies from throughout Connecticut registered to attend.

The keynote presentation, “The Negative Space of Stigma,” was presented by Michael Bader, PhD. The Public Service Award for this year was presented to Commissioner Jewel Mullen for her commitment and dedication in addressing health disparities in Connecticut.

The CMHP NB Award was presented to Rasy Mar, UCONN School of Medicine, for her demonstrated leadership in the Partnership to eliminate health disparities. Brad Plebani, Deputy Director, Center for Medicare Advocacy,

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Beyond Angelina Jolie: Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome Awareness By Bev Burke & Joan Foland “I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer” wrote Angelina Jolie in a New York Times op-ed piece entitled “My Medical Choice”. 1

Jolie’s mother died of early-onset ovarian cancer, and her maternal aunt, who also had a BRCA1 mutation, died of breast cancer. Jolie revealed her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer. When a star of Jolie’s status makes such an announcement, it provides an opportunity to help educate others on hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Connecticut has the highest incidence rate of female breast cancer in the U.S.,2 but only an estimated 5-10% of breast cancers are hereditary. However, a woman’s risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she inherits a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2, as in the case of Angelina Jolie. We in public health appreciate that misunderstanding of disease risk is common. To help provide a greater understanding and awareness of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) syndrome, and to mark October’s National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week, DPH-GO and Comprehensive Cancer Program will hold a “Lunch and Learn” on Thursday, October 24th from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in 470C. Please save the date. This Lunch and Learn session will build upon our Healthy People 2020 Action Project, which served to promote evidence-based recommendations for HBOC syndrome, and resulted in a number of resources being

developed and posted on the DPH website. For more information on Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer, please click on the following links (in English and Spanish). http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/genomics/Patient_sheet_HBOC-ENG.pdf http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/genomics/Patient_sheet_HBOC-SPA.pdf

Inquiring Minds Want to Know! By Marijane Mitchell Following a recent article about breastfeeding and the handling/storing of breast milk, a question was raised: Are special precautions needed for handling breast milk? The short answer is “No.” An excerpt of CDC’s FAQ’s on Breastfeeding: (http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm for the full text) “CDC does not list human breast milk as a body fluid for which most healthcare personnel should use special handling precautions. Occupational exposure to human breast milk has not been shown to lead to transmission of HIV or HBV infection. However, because human breast milk has been implicated in transmitting HIV from mother to infant, gloves may be worn as a precaution by health care workers who are frequently exposed to breast milk (e.g., persons working in human milk banks).”

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

QI CORNER: Learning to Lead- Reflections from Your Co-Workers by Joan H. Ascheim Thirty DPH staff completed the formal leadership development training offered by Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH). Participants provided high ratings and very positive comments about the program. We thought it would be of interest to DPH staff to learn a bit more about what was included in the training and hear from participants, in their own words, how valuable the program was to them. The Enneagram- Understanding Personality Types and Working with Others The Enneagram is an ancient tool which helps people understand their personality types and those of others such as co-workers. It is used in the leadership training as a self-awareness tool to maximize leadership strengths and to understand how best to work with others and to foster high performing teams. The tool uses 9 personality types such as the Helper, the Enthusiast, the Motivator and others. “The Enneagram was valuable to me” said Paul Gacek, an epidemiologist in the Infectious Disease Section. “By understanding my personality better and those of my co-workers, I can approach colleagues who view things differently in a way I couldn’t do before. It really has contributed to a higher functioning team.” Paul purchased additional books on the Enneagram so he could gain more insight into himself and to learn to work more effectively with others. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership Participants learned about the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership as described by the work of James Kouzes and Barry Posner. After much research, Kouzes and Posner found common practices among successful leaders which can be learned and debunk the myth that people must be born leaders.

 

Marilyn Lonczak, Breastfeeding Coordinator WIC Program

Paul Gacek

For additional information regarding Universal Precautions as they apply to breast milk in the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B infections, visit the following resources: 1) Perspectives in Disease Prevention and

Health Promotion Update: Universal Precautions for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, and Other Bloodborne Pathogens in Health-Care Settings. MMWR June 24, 1988, 37(24):377–388.

2) CDC. recommendations for prevention of HIV transmission in health-care settings. MMWR 1987, 36 (supplement no. 2S): 1–18S.

Below is a link to another article referencing that human milk is not hazardous. “Expressed milk can be kept in a common refrigerator at the workplace or in a day care center. The US Centers for Disease Control and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration agree that human milk is not among the body fluids that require special handling or storage in a separate container.” http://www.workandpump.com/storage.htm

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

In brief, those practices are: Model the Way – set an example Inspire a Shared Vision –envision a better

future Challenge the Process – experiment and

take risks Empower Others to Act – discover talents of

others and help them contribute Encourage the Heart – show appreciation

and recognize achievements

Each participant evaluated themselves on these practices and was evaluated by their managers, co-workers, and direct reports using a Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI.) They used this feedback to create a leadership

development plan based on what they learned about themselves. “Between the Enneagram and the LPI, I gained a greater understanding of myself,” said Stacey Kinney, a supervisor in the laboratory. “I realized I wasn’t always the best listener and was often thinking about what I was going to say when meeting with co-workers instead of listening to them. Sometimes my responses were curt and could be hurtful to people. Now I try to hear my own voice, and count to ten before responding to be sure I am really listening to people and responding in an encouraging way. If you can truly understand yourself, you can communicate better and be a better leader.” Paul Gacek noted “I have used these practices at DPH, trying to lead by example and my colleagues have noticed a difference. As the president of the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Public Health Alumni Board, I helped develop a shared vision for the newly formed board. The skills I have learned have provided a great foundation for me to hopefully move into a leadership position here at DPH.” Individual Coaching Sessions Following the interactive classroom component of the training, each participant had an

Stacey Kinney

opportunity to meet with a member of the LGH staff for individual coaching on their leadership development plan. “The individual coaching session gave me the chance to focus on where I was, what I wanted to achieve, and how to get there,” said Pam Hodge, an Epidemiologist with the Family Health Section. “As a result, I have decided to go back to school and pursue my MBA. This is something I have wanted to do for a while. The coaching and timing was perfect for me to take that next step. I also met with my supervisor, Marcie Cavacas, and shared my desire to change roles within DPH and move from epidemiology work to that of a Health Program Associate. The program helped me to better plan the next steps in my career.” Not Just Another Training Program

The Leadership Development Program is more than just an informative training. David Cooley, an engineer with the drinking water program noted, “I have gone to a lot of trainings, but what really sets this program apart is that there are methods to help you succeed in applying what you learn.” David

was referring to the individual leadership development plan, individual coaching session and group feedback sessions as enhancements to typical training. “I have used my individual leadership plan to model the way for others by being proactive and keeping a positive outlook even on tough days. I think I have seen that attitude positively affect others on our team. We are all working on a quality improvement project and are excited to improve upon the work we currently do.” Like others, David has seen what he has learned in the program spill over into his personal life particularly when he is interacting with his young children.

Pam Hodge

David Cooley

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

More to Come The second Leadership Development Program is now underway with another session scheduled solely for managers in October. As funding allows, the program will be offered again for more staff to help them realize their leadership potential.

Hands for Life 2013 By Michele Connelly

On June 13th, the employees of the Connecticut Department of Public Health came together to make a difference. 308 employees at the Capitol Ave. and State Laboratory locations took time out of their busy days to invest 15 minutes to learn “Hands Only” CPR, including use of an AED. This represents 39% of the total DPH employee population. When an adult suffers a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), their best chance at survival is immediate initiation of bystander CPR. Unfortunately, most bystanders are reluctant to give CPR – concerns range from making matters worse, to transmitting an unknown illness or disease from providing mouth-to-mouth. This exciting event improved the chances of a cardiac victim’s survival rate by enabling participants to know how to Check. Call. Compress. -- call 911, check for breathing, and perform chest compressions at 100 beats per minute – and save lives. Every minute treatment is delayed increases mortality by 10%. Every second counts so everyone needs to be prepared and ready to act! Hands for Life®, a new health education effort, is embarking on an ambitious, exciting program to help communities and companies become truly heart safe, embracing the American Heart Association’s challenge to educate a greater percentage of its residents and workforce on how to save lives with CPR. Hands Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths, and is recommended for use by people who see an adult suddenly collapse. Hands Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR (CPR that

includes breaths) in the first few minutes of an out-of-hospital SCA. Conventional CPR may be better than Hands-Only CPR for certain victims, such as infants and children found in cardiac arrest, or victims of drowning or collapse due to breathing problems. Any attempt at CPR is better than no attempt. Background For decades, medical professionals and emergency responders have been preparing Americans to respond to sudden cardiac emergencies with CPR. Unfortunately, only one-third of people who suffer out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest receive bystander CPR. In our area, bystander CPR statistics are even lower. By providing Hands-Only CPR to an adult who has collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest can more than double that person’s chance of survival. Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use also dramatically increases a sudden cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. Learning the location of nearby AEDs and how to use them can mean the difference between life or death for victims of SCA. The employees of DPH should be proud of their part in making DPH a HEARTSafe Workplace for the employees around them!

Autumn In New England

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Is Your Town HEARTSafe? By Office of Emergency Medical Services

The Connecticut Department of Public Health started the HEARTSafe Communities Program in the spring of 2006 to foster community environments that improve the survival odds for people suffering sudden cardiac events, such as cardiac arrests or heart attacks. A HEARTSafe Community promotes and supports the American Heart Association’s ‘Chain of Survival’: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in the community; public access to defibrillation through strategic placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use by trained community members; trained and equipped first responders and early advanced care. The program first was developed in Massachusetts and now many states have started their own programs. It is the hope that this program, developed, piloted and implemented here in New England, will spread across the country. There is a clear need for this program. Only 13% of Connecticut adults know all the proper heart attack signs. These signs include recurring chest discomfort or pain, pain in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach; shortness of breath; and other symptoms that may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness. It has been proven that educating the public to recognize cardiac events will save lives by providing prompt emergency response and care, starting with informed and trained bystanders and continuing through first responders to advanced pre-hospital emergency care. The HEARTSafe Program is celebrating reaching over 100 communities reaching HEARTSafe designation. Is your community HEARTSafe?

For additional information, you can contact: Michele Connelly Ext. #7973 DPH.HEARTSafe@ct.gov

NHANES Visits Connecticut By Celeste Jorge Recently, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was in Connecticut, as an area was randomly selected for this study sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. NHANES is a program of studies designed to examine the health status of adults and children in the U.S. It is the only nationally representative health survey conducted in the United States that combines both interviews and physical examinations.  

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Ruth LaBelle, Payroll Officer 2, underwent a successful kidney transplant on July 18, 2013, at Yale New Haven Hospital. The kidney was donated by her cousin, Joshua Henry. Ruth was diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis, an autoimmune disease, in May 2011, which attacked her kidneys as well as her heart. After nearly a month of hospitalization, her heart regained function, as well as her kidneys, and the Lupus went into remission. In October 2012, she was hospitalized again for a very bad sore throat, which the doctors later connected to the Lupus. The Lupus began to attack her kidneys and when her kidney function continued to decrease, the doctors quickly put her on dialysis. She remained on dialysis for nine months, going three times a week, for four hours each day.

The survey has been conducted since the early 1960s and has surveyed over 140,000 people. Some DPH and local health staff were invited to the NHANES site and had the opportunity to tour the series of Mobile Exam Centers. Diane Aye, along with Carol Stone, Stephanie Poulin and Celeste Jorge were taken through the Mobile Exam Centers to view state of the art medical technology including a Hologic DXA full-body scanner and a new digital camera designed to detect fluorosis, of which there are only 6 in the world (NHANES has three of them). It was a wonderful opportunity and a rare event to have an area of Connecticut selected as a survey site. For more information on the NHANES, please visit the CDC’s website: www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm. 

A Gift of Life By Ruth Labelle

In March 2013, her son Robert, daughter Brittany, fiancé Alton and nephew Timothy came forward to see if they were a match to donate their kidney to her, but unfortunately, none were a match. While still receiving dialysis treatments, her cousin Joshua offered to see if he was a match to donate his kidney. Three weeks later Ruth received a call from Joshua to let her know he was a match. Six short weeks later, they underwent the surgery. Currently, Ruth's Lupus is suppressed and dialysis is no longer necessary. A month after the transplant Joshua says he feels excellent and was glad that he could do this for his cousin. Ruth says she is incredibly grateful for the sacrifice Joshua made to her and she feels very blessed. Ruth, thank you for sharing your incredible story with us.

Ruth and her cousin Joshua

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Nordia Grant of the Family Section graduated from the Connecticut Health Foundation (CTHealth) Leadership Fellowship Program. This 10-month program is focused on the development, practice, and application of leadership skills to the complex issue of health equity in Connecticut. This opportunity fosters a learning-intensive environment for participants to challenge themselves and each other. The program focused specifically on building leadership skills necessary for creating public will and systems change for health equity. Fellows are selected through a competitive process and attend monthly, half-day seminars and two weekend retreats, and complete a group leadership project. Nordia worked with her coalition project members and the Connecticut Association of School Based Health Centers to develop a Connecticut-specific informational booklet to educate policymakers and communities about the benefits of school based health centers (SBHCs) and its impact on student health.

Diane Aye, Chief, Health Statistics and Surveillance Section, was one of five

state representatives selected to serve on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance (BRFSS) advisory panel to CDC. The panel works with CDC staff and nationwide experts to provide advice to CDC on survey methodology.

Congratulations to Jose Aparo, son of Muriel Aparo from the Practitioner Licensing Program. Muriel’s son achieved rank of 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do with the US Tae Kwan Do in Newington on August 17, 2013.

Julian B. Watkins son of Carline Clanton-Watkins (Tumor Registry) and David Watkins graduated Cum Laude from Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C. with a degree in Business Administration.

Here are some ladies from the Women's Sprint Triathlon held on Sunday, September 8th in Farmington. Pictured here (from left to right) are Lisa Bushnell and Krista Veneziano from the Lead and Healthy Homes program, Meg Harvey, Sharee Rusnak and Deb Pease, all from the Environmental & Occupational Health program, Mary Emerling of Family Health and Irene Schneider from IT (not in photo). The triathlon consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike ride and a 5k run. Well done ladies! You should be proud.

Congratulations to Barbara Cass, RN, Section Chief of Facilities Licensing & Investigations, who was selected as one of three state managers to receive the 2013 Distinguished Managerial Service Award. This award was presented to Barbara by the Management Advisory Council at Managers’ Day held on September 27th.

Joe Ubaike of the Lab’s Newborn Screening Section celebrated with his Parents on their Diamond Jubilee (60 years of marriage) on Saturday August 24, 2013. This was a

big event in Meriden with a proclamation from the Holy Father Pope Francis, President Barack and Michelle Obama, Governor Dannel P. Malloy, US house of representative for the 5th district, Elizabeth Este and the Mayor of Meriden Mr.Rhode.

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Congratulations to Olga Armah, Office of Health Care Access who was selected to participate in a pilot program for a new course, Managing Effectively in Today’s Public Health Environment. The course was developed by Boston University’s School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice. It includes 28 hours of instruction and is aimed at strengthening participants’ management skills covering topics that include managing staff, creating/maintaining budgets, overseeing projects and project teams, day-to-day operations, and overall office performance. Support for the course was provided by grants from the New England Alliance for Public Health Workforce Development (a HRSA funded Public Health Training Center) and the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts, a CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health funded entity. The course will run this fall with other pilot participants in the New England region.

Congratulations to Briána M. Camacho, daughter of Charlene Gross of the Community Health and Prevention Section on her recent graduation from East Hartford High School. While

attending High School Briána also obtained her license to be a Certified Nursing Assistant. Five days after graduating High School Briána began attending the Summer Bridge Academy at Goodwin College, Which is a Six Week Full Scholarship Program where students earn up to six transferable college credits. Upon graduating from the Summer Bridge Academy she was also accepted into the Women Invested in Securing an Education (WISE) Program at Goodwin College. This program only recruits 20 students each year and provides those students with a 75% discount on their college tuition.

Briána will be starting her college education this September at Goodwin College where she will be studying to obtain her bachelor’s degree in nursing. Congratulations Briána AND Charlene. You must be proud!

Congratulations to Madison Sinkfield, daughter of Nora Sinkfield of the Fiscal Office who was selected to represent the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) at the 2013 New England Student Leadership Conference held on June 20, 2013. Participation in this conference provided a unique opportunity that a select number of students from Massachusetts were able to experience. In addition to Madison’s colleagues from Massachusetts, she was joined by student-leaders from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont who participated in this event.

Congratulations to James, son of Lu Ann Hunt of the Practitioner Licensing Section, who graduated from East Hartford High School Class of 2013. James was a Diver on East Hartford Hornets swim team who went on to State Finals, he was also a Captain on the tennis team. James was awarded the Dean Scholarship for Creative

Writing and will be attending Franklin Pierce University this fall. Spread your wings and continue to soar!

Congratulations to Christine Velasquez of the Family Health Section, and her husband, Alfredo. Aubrie Cathryn Velasquez arrived on August 7th at 3:01 PM. Aubrie weighed 7lbs,1 oz and was 20 inches long.  

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Connecticut Recognized as “Public Health Ready”. As of July 1st, each of Connecticut’s five Emergency Planning and Preparedness Regions was recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for their ability to respond to public health emergencies. Connecticut is now the fourth state in the nation to achieve statewide recognition. Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) is a criteria-based public health preparedness program that assesses local health agency capacity to plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. The criteria used by the program have direct correlation to accreditation and CDC preparedness requirements. Greg Chiara of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response served as the DPH coordination lead for the regional PPHR application process that took place over the past three years. Barbara Dingfelder and Juanita Estrada from Local Health Administration, Jessica Brockmeyer and Kristin Soto from Infectious Disease, and Mary Pettigrew and John Stonoha from the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response also served as reviewers of the applications prior to submission to NACCHO.

Susie and Jerome Learn About a Healthy Home Book Reading On August 5th, 2013, Deputy Commissioner Lewis and Krista Veneziano of the Lead and Healthy Homes Program, attended a reading of the children’s book, Susie and Jerome Learn about a Healthy Home, given by Congressman John B. Larson at the East Hartford YMCA preschool program located in the Lois Pauline Nolan Larson Center.

Deputy Commissioner Lewis and Congressman Larson

In the book, a young girl named Susie, her family, and her goldfish Jerome learn the seven principles of healthy homes. They learn that a healthy home is clean, dry, safe, with fresh air, no pests, no dangerous chemicals, and in good repair. They also learn some simple ways that children and adults can apply these principles in their daily lives. Approximately, 30 children and 20 adults were in attendance, including the East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc (to the right). To date, the book has been distributed to all public libraries and all elementary schools. The book was developed by funding made available by DPH in conjunction with the University of Connecticut’s Healthy Environments for Children Initiative.

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

Transforming Information Technology To Better Serve The Agency Ronald Capozzi No matter what your department does, there is a component of managing information. How you manage that information is governed by a myriad of rules and constraints. Information Technology (IT) services are in various stages of replacing paper to manage our agency’s workload. The tools IT has built to serve your department age over time and have a useful life. What was ‘state of the art’ when originally built, may now seem inadequate for your current needs. As the state of technology progresses, so must we. Years back, every application was custom built for a single dedicated purpose. Each department shared physical space but the sharing of information that crossed discipline boundaries was cumbersome at best. The new model of IT is to use similar tools to serve similar functions across multiple disciplines. A good example of this is our e-licensing software. This technology crossed not only unit boundaries but agency boundaries by replicating the function of licensing different professions and entities throughout the state. That is a synergy we are beginning to replicate at DPH. By moving from a desktop application to web-based application means that scaling up the use of that application has gone from a labor-intensive process requiring more and more effort as additional users are added, to one where adding new users does not require any more resources to support it. Along with this distributive front-end model is a centralized database on the back-end. A centralized database is much easier to maintain. We try not to have redundant data but keep a close watch over the data that is important. We are now in the process of migrating from an expensive-to-license database (Oracle) to one that can save the agency a significant amount of money (SQL server).

Another way to save money and time is by state employees building applications using the same tools so that when employees move from one department to another the “look and feel” of the application is consistent. This way, one only needs to acquire knowledge specific to the department to become a contributing member of it. To this end, we have chosen the “best in class” tools for the job, making them available for our development team and cross-training the team in their use. A recent example of this was the building of font-ends for both the Daycare Licensing background check and Marriage Licensing. They were both developed with ASP.NET technology using the Kendo UI application. This application incorporates technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript as a package that is the IT version of the Swiss army knife – single tool but multi-function. Besides the consistency of the developed end-user application, there is also the increased productivity of the developer to create/modify them quicker.

When it comes to buying licenses for software, bulk buying offers a discount regardless of the funding stream. My work with assessing the needs for SAS (a

software package used commonly among epidemiologists) among all the staff at DPH required skills outside my job class. We are all acutely aware of budgetary constraints. Besides software tools that are available commercially there are freeware, homegrown applications and federally built applications. There is a balancing act of which tools provide the most “bang for the buck”. The answer may not be intuitively obvious until all factors are evaluated. There is a movement not only within DPH but also within the state to concentrate on fewer or sole products that do the same job for

 

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The Department of Public Health Employee Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 3, October 2013

the same function(s). The use of software that does not require licensing fees is also on the rise with government. At any given time, the developer team has various projects in various stages of development, as well as performing enhancements and maintenance on the systems we support. Like many other departments, we are short-staffed but are working to fix that so we can support the agency in a timely manner delivering the necessary tools and workflow methods for you to do your jobs to your potential.

March 1st Eileen Boulay Karen Purrone April 1st Pauline Krupa Cathy Andrews-Hawkins Genevieve Clark May 1st Phyllis Righenzi Mark Aschenbach Aaron Roome Georgia Davey June 1st Nancy Dickman

July 1st Maria Andrews Phyllis Dower Claudio Santoro Harriette Clark August 1st Debra Rosen Patricia Denoia September 1st Winifred Crawford Edward Bergin Julie Moy October 1st Clifford McClellan

Ramona Anderson Pamela Bener Meghan Bennett Araceli Casilals Jennifer Cole Karen Donato Rosanne Gavrilovic Lauren Hull Monica Jensen Lucia Little

Catherine McMullan Deana Miranda Eugene Pizzo Lamont Quinitchett Alison Rau Julie Silva Maureen Sullivan Pauline Thompson Steven Wallett

DPH New Employees February-October 2013

DPH Retirees February-October 2013

Connecticut Joins National Newborn Screening Month! By Newborn Screening Staff

The CT Newborn Screening staff joined the National Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Newborn Screening in September 2013. Although Massachusetts, Oregon and Delaware were the first states to begin newborn screening, CT was right behind the other States and began Screening for Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Galactosemia in 1964. CT continues to keep pace with the rapid national changes in genetic testing and has expanded the newborn screening testing panel over the past 49 years to include over 50 disorders. The most recent addition was Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder (SCID). This disorder was formerly referred to as the, “Bubble Boy Disease”. Children born with this disorder have an impaired immune system. Timely detection and bone marrow transplantation leads to a healthy child. Visit the link to view the Laboratory Newborn Screening List of Newborn Screening Tests and results reference ranges at: www.ct.gov/dph/NBStestresultlevels . Next year the CT laboratory Newborn Screening Program will celebrate our 50 years of newborn screening. Newborn Screening Saves Babies - One Foot at a Time!