Story from the Field

Name of Health Department/Agency:	Marion County Health Department
State:	IN
Date Added:	10/10/2009
Themes:
Issue Summary:	Health care partners appreciate our weekly situation report
Description of Issue(s):	As the H1N1 outbreak started in April, we produced a daily situation report internal to our health dept.
Actions taken to address the issue(s):	As the outbreak slowed, we converted it to a weekly report, emailed to health care providers to help in their planning.
Outcomes that resulted from actions taken:	We have received many thanks, and it has stimulated more communication, cooperation, and "we are all in this together" attitude than we would probably have otherwise. We initially sent it to EDs, infection control, and folks on other distribution lists we had. We now post the report and related information on a public web page (see link below). We email the report with the message: "Attached is the weekly H1N1 situation report from the Marion County Health Department. You may find it helpful during this influenza season." Past situation reports and other information are archived at http://www.mchd.com/swine_flu/swineflu_situational_reports.htm.