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Management of Norovirus Outbreaks and Disease Control Measures

2/29/2012 | 9:00AM - 10:00AM
MLK Room, The Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street Philadelphia PA 19102
  • Event Type: Training/Workshop
  • Department: All Departments
  • Speakers: Esther Chernak, MD, MPH, FACP
  • Audiences: General

Norovirus outbreaks affect persons of all ages; however they are often concentrated in contained settings, such as long-term care facilities and day care centers.  Recognizing the clinical presentation, transmission routes, medical management, and prevention measures are key elements to understanding the role of norovirus in outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.  By the end of this presentation, local health department officials will understand best practices in the control and management of outbreaks in high-risk healthcare and community settings. 

Learning Objectives

  • Recognize the clinical presentation of Norovirus
  • Explain the role of Norovirus in community-wide outbreaks of diarrheal disease
  • Name three important mechanisms of transmission of Norovirus
  • Identify current medical management and prevention measures for Norovirus control
  • Discuss principles of Norovirus outbreak management in high risk settings

Who Should Attend

Local health department personnel, nurses, sanitarians, and health educators.

Continuing Education Credits

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to earn 1 CE contact hour credit in the following disciplines: Certified Health Education Specialist (CECH Category I) and PA Board of Nursing.

Please make a reservation and join us at the Friends Center or contact Eleanor Lippmann if you would like to participate remotely.

Esther Chernak, MD, MPH, FACP

Dr. Esther Chernak was appointed Director of the Center of Public Health Readiness and Communication at Drexel University School of Public Health in October 2010. She is an Associate Research Professor in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health. From 2007 through July 2009, she was the Medical Director for the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health where she was responsible for communicable disease surveillance and outbreak investigations in the Health Department’s Division of Disease Control. From 1999 to 2008, she led the development of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and oversaw public health emergency preparedness planning, training, and exercises for the City. Under her leadership, the department initiated critical activities such as planning for pandemic influenza, mass prophylaxis, and outreach to community-based organizations that serve vulnerable populations. In that position, she played a central role in launching enhanced surveillance programs, a health alert network, a preparedness website for public health partners, and department-wide training in public health preparedness. She also chaired several multidisciplinary task forces to coordinate public health emergency preparedness planning and response in the Philadelphia metropolitan area that were comprised of public health, law enforcement, emergency management, healthcare, and other public safety officials.

Dr. Chernak has over 19 years of experience in public health practice. She was the Clinical Director of HIV Services for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health Division of Ambulatory Health Services, a system of primary healthcare centers that provide care to the city’s uninsured and underinsured population. She has also worked as a public health physician in acute communicable disease epidemiology, a clinician in HIV, Sexually Transmitted Disease and Tuberculosis Control programs, and served as the Medical Director for the Montgomery County Health Department in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

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  • CEPHDrexel SPH is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)

     
  • 1505 Race Street, Bellet Building
    Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192
    Phone: 215.762.4110 | Fax: 215.762.4088
    E-mail: publichealthinfo@drexel.edu