“Our efforts will help improve and support infection prevention and control efforts across Alabama public health and public health systems,” said Lisa McCormick, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Public Health Practice at the UAB School of Public Health and Director of the ARC IPC. “I am excited to work with a diverse team of IPC professionals to help ADPH strengthen Alabama’s capacity to prevent, control and manage infectious disease outbreaks.”
IPC experts will play a vital role during the pandemic by monitoring, detecting, responding and preventing future outbreaks. McCormick hopes the efforts build capacity within the workforce to fight COVID-19 and raise awareness of the need and importance of professionals in the field.
The pandemic is having an immense impact on the economy, health and social well-being of Alabam people. As of June, Alabama had more than 548,000 COVID-19 cases and 11,250 deaths from the virus. The state’s vaccination rates are lagging behind as new, increasingly transferable variants such as the Delta variant emerge.
In addition, Alabama sees hepatitis A and RSV cases spike into the summer months as concerns about vector and foodborne diseases increase.
“As a nation and state, we were really hit flat by SARS-CoV-2, even though scientists had warned that coronaviruses have the potential to cause a global pandemic,” said Suzanne Judd, professor and co-director of the ARC IPC and director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy at the UAB School of Public Health. “Working with ADPH will help us be ready when a new virus or bacterium threatens the health of the alabamans. We will be better prepared to communicate risks to the public to prevent future pandemics. “
The center provides training and technical support to IPC personnel from local, district and state health authorities, infection control managers and nurses in inpatient and outpatient health facilities and long-term care facilities, hospital epidemiologists, school nurses and other infection control practitioners.
“The UAB faculty and staff involved in this center have extensive experience in infectious disease prevention and control, epidemiology and surveillance, behavioral health, public health preparation, and prognosis and modeling, as well as implementation and evaluation of public health programs that are designed to empower current public health and health care workers, ”said McCormick.
Investigators at the ARC IPC include Dr. Paul Erwin, Dr. Rachael Lee, Dr. Marjorie White, Dr. Sarah Nafziger, Dr. James Crosby, Bertha Hidalgo, Greg Pavela, Tamika Smith, Judd and McCormick.
The ARC IPC is currently starting its efforts. Visit the website to request training or technical assistance, access infection prevention resources, see upcoming training opportunities, or learn more about the center. For more information, questions or to register for the ARC IPC newsletter, send an email to ARCIPC@uab.edu.
This story originally appeared on the UAB News website.
(Courtesy Alabama NewsCenter)
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-high-schoolers-learn-about-cybersecurity-at-uah-gencyber-camp-yellowhammer-news/
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