An important area of focus for Spokane Regional Health District’s Tobacco, Vaping Device and Marijuana Prevention program is monitoring the market for emerging products or trends that could potentially cause harm to youth. After notifying the public about products of concern, staff rely on its partnerships with schools and the community to help keep these products out of the hands of kids.
More than 11 years after a federal court first ordered big tobacco to tell the American people the truth about their deadly and addictive products, things are beginning to change.
In each issue of the Epigram, we are pleased to introduce to you a member of the Disease Prevention and Response team at SRHD. In this issue we feature longtime epidemiologist Dorothy MacEachern, MS, MPH, CIC, a dedicated employee of SRHD for 20 years. Dorothy is currently an Infection Preventionist funded by the CDC working with local healthcare facilities to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
Some of the largest and most publicized public health events of the last several decades are profiled in the CDC’s web series “We Were There” – Toxic Shock Syndrome, E. coli O157 outbreak of 1993, ending polio in America, the first Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak in 1976, and others. This fascinating lecture series outlines in detail the behind-the-scenes investigation process and the invaluable contributions from public health in solving and stopping considerable morbidity and mortality from disease outbreaks.
In 2017, the SRHD Immunization program, in partnership with schools and community partners, provided 2,567 vaccines through its Mobile Immunization Clinic model.
