NYC-WTC_000195490

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Programmatic Review

The mission of the Department of Health is to protect and promote the health of the public through monitoring, prevention, and control activities for individuals, families, and communities in New York City. The Department prevents epidemics and the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and tuberculosis; protects against environmental hazards; prevents unintentional injuries; promotes and encourages healthy behaviors; responds to disasters and assists communities in recovery; and ensures the accessibility of health services. !

Agency Initiatives

In 2002, the Department will intensify its efforts to reduce mosquito-bome diseases in New York City. This will be accomplished by implementing enhanced mosquito-borne disease surveillance and control activities, including: (1) intensive surveillance systems to detect mosquito-bome disease in mosquitoes, birds and mammals, and humans; (2) identification, reduction, and elimination of mosquito breeding grounds to reduce mosquito populations; (3) aggressive larvieiding efforts to prevent the emergence of adult .mosquitoes; (4) judicious use of adulticides when necessary; (5) evaluation of surveillance and control efforts, including the efficacy of pesticides; (6) continuing assessment of the effects of pesticide on the environment, including potential adverse effects on humaiis; (7) public education to enhance community awareness about the risks for mosquito-borne disease; and i (8) professional education for health care providers. These activities will be partially supported by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health. The Department, under Section 11.03 of the Health Code, will require health care providers, laboratories, and others to report cases of arboviral diseases diagnosed or identified in New York City,

In 2002, the Department will continue its efforts to mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems and to develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.

The Department continues to expand the Childhood Asthma Initiative, which is now in its fourth year and is quickly becoming a national intervention model for urban settings. The initiative supports Citywide educational programs in high-risk neighborhoods; as well as surveillance and evaluation activities. ' ' J . ; ■

The Department is piloting the Asthma Symptom Management and Referral Treatment (SMART) program I'J serving asthmatic children in East Harlem. This program identifies and shares critical asthma events, such as visits to school nurses or emergency robins, with those who are involved in the management of the child’s asthma in prder to prevent the progression of symptoms and avert subsequent emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Fbllow-up care'involves the mobilization of the child’s “asthma team,’’ which includes the child’s primary care dqctor and a community health outreach worker. The program, which began in the fall of 2000, will serve approximately 400 families in the coming year.

In 2001, the Department launched the Child Health Initiative, a program involving both Citywide and community-based efforts. The initiative, which will continue in 2002, aims to reduce childhood morbidity through a coordinated, integrated response to lead poisoning, asthma, vaccine-preventable diseases, and conditions affecting children; /

Disease Intervention Services

Yhe Department, consisteiit with Federal initiatives to eliminate tuberculosis in the nation, will continue its efforts to further reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in New York City. While the number of tuberculosis cases continues to go down - tuberculosis cases decreased by 55 percent between 1994 and 2000 - the program will increase its efforts to reach minority communities where significant numbers of the new tuberculosis cases are i ' ' J 156

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