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July 28 is World Hepatitis Day. We hear about hepatitis, and we know it’s bad, but do we know what it is? Do we know how it is spread and do we know enough to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe? Let’s start with some basics. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. The liver processes nutrients, filters the blood and fights infections, so if it is inflamed, these things can be affected. Things such as alcohol use, some medications and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis. However, it is usually caused by a virus. In the United States, we classify the most common types of viral hepatitis as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

A lot of information and data flows in and out of the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD). This information both reflects and helps us shape our community. It’s important to have a dedicated team who can help others understand what information is important, how to evaluate it, and how it can be used to guide public health. One member of that team is Sara Rodgers.

Ok, Spokane, we have some fun events coming up. Yes, we missed out on a lot of them last year, so let’s do all we can to make sure they continue. We also want to make sure that anybody who wants to get out and enjoy the fun can. It’s not a community event without the community.

Healthcare providers, healthcare facilities and laboratories each have a duty to report notifiable conditions to public health. The reportable conditions and responsibilities overlap in most cases between these three groups. Often it is assumed that the laboratory will report a condition or disease to public health, but that is not always the case. Here are the areas where you, as a healthcare provider, must take on the primary responsibility for reporting to public health.

Return-to-school requirements for children being evaluated for COVID-19 infection or exposure to someone with COVID-19 may differ from your utilization of testing in your practice. Below are some clinical pearls that will help your pediatric patients and their families better navigate the return-to-school process after an illness or exposure.

Many individuals in Spokane County are still unsure of how to get vaccinated—this includes both adults and adolescents age 12 and older If your practice is not currently offering COVID-19 vaccine, please share the sites below with individuals inquiring about vaccination.

COVID-19 disrupted both in-person learning and routine well-child visits for many children during the last year. We all want our kids to be back in school safely, and that means getting caught up on vaccines that were missed during the past year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) public sector vaccine ordering data show a 14% drop in childhood vaccines for the period of the 2020-2021 school year compared to the 2018-2019 school year, and measles vaccine is down by more than 20%. Catch-up vaccination will require efforts from healthcare systems, healthcare providers, schools, state and local governments, and families.