Stories from the Field - Search

This information is intended to assist local health departments (LHDs) in their pandemic H1N1 response by sharing reports of useful practices and other lessons learned from peers. NACCHO does not endorse nor have we evaluated these practices. What works in one jurisdiction may not work in another.

If you have feedback on the practices listed or have input on how to improve this page, please e-mail h1n1info@naccho.org.

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Date Added	Themes	Issue Summary	Health Department/Agency	State
08/04/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Using Partnerships to Organize Vaccine Clinics	El Paso County Department of Health and Environment	CO
07/23/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Limited public health medical personnel for H1N1 response	Medical Reserve Corps of Southwest Colorado	CO
06/23/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Using on-line survey tools for staffing and scheduling H1N1 clinics	Weber-Morgan Health Department	UT
05/21/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Municipal health department distributing high demand H1N1 vaccine to residents outside of jurisdiction.	Wilkes-Barre City Health Department	PA
05/14/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	H1N1 Flu Shot Clinics at Popular Weekend Swap Meets Reach Latinos in CA	Kern Couny Public Health Department	CA
04/07/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Bi-State Communications to Partners and Stakeholders	Rock Island County Health Department	IL
04/01/2010	State and Local Coordination	Unified Command for H1N1 Response in Alexandria	Alexandria Health Department	VA
03/23/2010	Community Mitigation	Mass Segregation at International Camp	Sharonville City Health Department	OH
03/16/2010	Community Mitigation,Vaccine Planning and Administration	School based clinics in Richland County SC	Region 3 SC Dept of Health and Environmental Control	SC
03/10/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Using Corporate Health Sites for H1N1 Vaccinations in New York City	New York City Department of Health	NY
03/10/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Decision-making Process to Expand H1N1 Vaccination Beyond ACIP Target Groups	Tennessee Department of Health	TN
03/10/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Decision-making Process to Expand H1N1 Vaccination Beyond ACIP Target Groups	Wisconsin Department of Health	WI
03/10/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Expanding H1N1 Vaccination Beyond ACIP Target Groups	Alaska Department of Health and Social Services	AK
03/10/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Expanding H1N1 Vaccination Beyond ACIP Target Groups	Oklahoma State Department of Health	OK
03/01/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Push-Method Distribution of H1N1 Vaccinations by Public Health District at Major Metro Atlanta Mall	East Metro Health District (Georgia)	GA
02/17/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Storing and redistributing vaccine to all clinics and hospitals in our county was a new experience for us with many lessons learned.	Wright County Public Health	MN
02/12/2010	Communications - General H1N1	H1N1 Influenza Community Outreach	Houston Health and Human Services	TX
02/02/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Public Service Announcement coincides with National Influenza Vaccination Week	East Central Health District	GA
02/02/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Mexican Rodeo-Latino Influenza Outreach Campaign	Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment	CO
02/02/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	LHD sets up diverse school-located H1N1 vaccination clinics	Sedgwick County Health Department	KS
02/02/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	LHD targets high priority students during school break	Natick Health Department	MA
01/29/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Collaboration between Local Health and School Health	Framingham Board of Health	MA
01/27/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Difficulties in the vaccination of a large military base and their dependents	Bay County Health Department	FL
01/26/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	LHD sets up clinics at a variety of venues to reach blue collar workers, airport passengers, and others.	Norfolk Health Department	VA
01/26/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Eastern Shore Health District and MRC to Tangier Island	Eastern Shore Health District MRC	VA
01/26/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Utilizing electronic records management and GIS resources to best manage H1N1 vaccine distribution.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Leveraging the strength of Boston's Network of Independent Community Health Centers.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Community Mitigation	Boston's Integrated Plan strengthened civic engagement for H1N1 response.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Surveillance and Epidemiology	Boston used its surveillance system to improve H1N1 situational awareness, and to help make response decisions.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Community Mitigation	Team approach meant prevention was front and center.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Other	Boston leveraged its public health training expertise to prepare residents, volunteers and professionals to assist with the H1N1 response.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Communications - Priority Groups	"Talkin' bout the flu." Boston gets creative with Social Media to reach young people with H1N1 prevention messages.	Boston Public Health Commission	MA
01/26/2010	Community Mitigation	Medical care at schools	Boyle County Health Department	KY
01/25/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Medical Reserve Corps activities during the H1N1 flu pandemic	MRC of Southwest Colorado	CO
01/25/2010	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Navajo reservation runs daily vaccine clinics and creates large format advertising	Navajo Division of Health	AZ
01/25/2010	Communications - General H1N1	State uses theater ad for its H1N1 flu vaccination media campaign	Colorado Department of Health	CO
01/22/2010	Communications - General H1N1	H1N1 Public Service Announcement Features Football Hero	Ohio Department of Health	OH
01/14/2010	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Public notification of health department vaccine clinic	Nash County Health Department	NC
01/11/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Holiday H1N1 clinics	Denver Public Health	CO
01/11/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Native American Risk	City of Minneapolis	MN
01/08/2010	Communications - General H1N1	LHD sponsors a parade float to publicize H1N1 prevention messages	Lenoir County Health Department	NC
01/06/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Web-based registration	Otter Tail County Public Health	MN
01/06/2010	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Small LHD carries out a successful H1N1 vaccination strategy through collaboration, use of contemporary communication strategies and improved 'customer service'	The Village of Oak Park Department of Public Health	IL
01/05/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Using volunteers to help us get priority populations vaccinated.	Region IV Public Health - a collaborative H1N1 response among 4 Southwest Washington counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum	WA
01/05/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Taking appointments and creating labels reduced waiting time and confusion.	Morrison County Public Health	MN
01/05/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	increasing vaccine demand and availability, especially via partnerships with large employers jurisdiction	Pitt County Health Department	NC
01/05/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Meeting demand with limited vaccine supply	Kent County Health Department	MI
01/05/2010	Communications - General H1N1	Kent County brought its serious message about flu to Kent County residents in a novel and fun way for the holidays.	Kent County Health Department	MI
01/04/2010	Communications - Priority Groups	Social Media Use in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign	Kent County Health Department	MI
01/04/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	LHD in Florida collaborates with places of worship for H1N1 vaccine distribution	Pinellas County Health Department	FL
01/04/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Assistance from many organizations make PODs a success in Los Angeles	Los Angeles County Department of Public Health	CA
01/04/2010	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	H1N1 Response & Successes	Hendry and Glades County Health Departments	FL
12/29/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Maintaining rountine public health services while administering H1N1 vaccine.	Knox County Health Department	TN
12/28/2009		Mass Vaccination Planning and Community Coordination	Cuyahoga County Board of Health	OH
12/28/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Vaccinating School-Age Children	Delaware County Public Health	IA
12/28/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Communications - General H1N1	Collier County Health Department	FL
12/28/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Holiday Vaccination Clinics	Sedgwick County Health Department	KS
12/23/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Chicago Area Airports Used as Venues for Mass Vaccine Clinics	Chicago Department of Health	IL
12/23/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Use of YouTube Videos in H1N1 Response	Schenectady County Health Department	NY
12/23/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	Free Zoo Day Used to Reach Young Children in H1N1 Vaccination Campaign	Norfolk Public Health Department	VA
12/23/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Special Messaging for the Holidays	Carson City Health and Human Services	NV
12/23/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Creative Strategies to Promote and Make Vaccine Available in FL	Okaloosa County Health Department	FL
12/23/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	LHD Addresses Language and Cultural Barriers to H1N1 Vaccination Among Hispanic and Burmese Populations in IN	Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Department	IN
12/23/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in NC	NC Department of Public Health	NC
12/23/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Use of technology to improve communication and clinic operations	Delaware General Health District	OH
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in KY	Franklin County Health Department	KY
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in CO	Tri-County Health Department	CO
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in IL	Kane County Health Department	OH
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in VA	Peninsula Health Department	VA
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in FL	St. Johns Community Health Department	FL
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in CA	Orange County Medical Reserve Corps	CA
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chain Participation in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in WA	Seattle & King County Public Health Department	WA
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	National and Regional Pharmacy Chains Participate in H1N1 Vaccine Campaign in MI	Lapeer County Health Department	MI
12/21/2009	Communications - General H1N1	LHD Provides H1N1 Updates to Community Through Electronic Newsletter	Baltimore County Health Department	MD
12/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Seven LHDs in Neighboring Kansas Counties Coordinate H1N1 Response	Sedgwick County Health Department	KS
12/21/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	LHD Opens Up Vaccination Clinics to High-Risk Groups Across the State	Village of Skokie Health Department	IL
12/21/2009	Surveillance and Epidemiology,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Preparedness Planning Benefits Border City Swamped by H1N1 Pandemic	El Paso Department of Health	TX
12/21/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Minor League Baseball Stadium Used for Second H1N1 Vaccine Dose Clinic	Kane County Health Department	IL
12/17/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Public demand for H1N1 that far exceeded initial supplies	Franklin County Health Department	KY
12/15/2009	Communications - General H1N1	New Media to supplement H1N1 flu news coverage	El Paso County Department of Health and Environment	CO
12/15/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Use of students from Schools of Nursing	Union County Office of Health Management	NJ
12/11/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Outreach to Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups in FL Through Strategic Vaccination Planning	Martin County Health Department	FL
12/10/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures,State and Local Coordination	Local partner coordination and hospital surge planning.	Stanislaus County Health Services Agency	CA
12/09/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Ticket sytem for vaccine clinics prevents long wait lines	Montgomery County Health Department	MD
12/09/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Medical Reserve Corps and CERT members help solve staffing shortages	Coconino County Health Department	AZ
12/09/2009	Communications - General H1N1,State and Local Coordination	Maintaining community's trust through various communication strategies	Multnomah County Health Department	OR
12/09/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Soft advertising used to address limited supply of vaccine	Harvey County Health Department	KS
12/09/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Social Media Use During H1N1 response	Fairfax County Health Department	VA
12/08/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Regional Flu Awareness Campaign in Wisconsin	Milwaukee/Waukesha County Consortium for Emergency Public Health Preparedness	WI
12/02/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures	Engaging teams from medical practices and clinics in optomizing H1N1 vaccination and care management	Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services	CA
12/01/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	Communication Effort with Young People	Howard County Health Department	MD
11/30/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Vaccine planning and admin: Annual seasonal flu in-school clinics	Cumberland Plateau Health District	VA
11/25/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Communications - Vaccine Safety	Jefferson County teams up with another health dept. to education public about H1N1	Jefferson County Health Department	OH
11/25/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Jefferson County Health Dept. conducts specialized H1N1 flu clinics.	Jefferson County Health Department	OH
11/25/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Vaccine distribution to school age children	Cook County Department of Public Health	IL
11/25/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	St. Louis City Health Dept. staff rely on strong public/private partnerships to communicate to priority groups.	St. Louis City Department of Health	MO
11/25/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	St. Louis City Dept. of Health steers priority groups to private providers and school vaccination clinics rather than mass vaccination clinics.	St. Louis City Department of Health	MO
11/25/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Chicago Dept. of Public Health conference calls with healthcare system partners helps coordination efforts.	Chicago Department of Public Health	IL
11/25/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Chicago Dept. of Public Health uses a variety of risk communication/health information messaging.	Chicago Department of Public Health	IL
11/25/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Dedicated vaccination clinic leadership ensures smooth flow at Chicago clinics.	Chicago Department of Public Health	IL
11/25/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Monitoring by Public Health Emergency Operations Center minimizes wait time at vaccination clinics in Chicago	Chicago Department of Public Health	IL
11/24/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Web-based pre-registration for H1N1 clinics	Hunterdon County Health Department	NJ
11/23/2009	Communications - General H1N1,Communications - Priority Groups	St. Lucie County H1N1 Communication Strategy	St. Lucie County Health Department	FL
11/23/2009	Community Mitigation	Employer Forum	Lapeer County Health Department	MI
11/23/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Changes in public messages for H1N1 PODs	Tri-County Health Department	CO
11/21/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	Vaccinating a mono-language speaking community	Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency	CA
11/21/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Inadequate vaccine	Tri-County Health Department	CO
11/20/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	How to rapidly administer thousands of doses of vaccine	Snohomish Health District	WA
11/20/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	OB-GYNs outreach to pregnant women in Seattle, WA	Seattle-King County Department of Health and Univ. of WA	WA
11/20/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	OB-GYNs outreach to pregnant women in Maine	Maine Department of Health	ME
11/17/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	H1N1 pandemic strains staff and budget of local health department	Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health	IN
11/17/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Appointments ensure smooth flow at vaccination clinics	Coconino County Health Department	AZ
11/16/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	School-located vaccine campaign in Arkansas	Arkansas Department of Health	AR
11/16/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	School-located vaccination in Kanawha County, WV	Kanawha County Health Department	WV
11/13/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Clown provides distraction for small children at mass vaccination clinic	Greenwich Department of Health	CT
11/12/2009	Communications - Priority Groups	SC DHEC Region 8 Encourages Hispanic Population to be Vaccinated	SC Dept of Health and Environmental Control	SC
11/11/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures	Partnership with local safety net clinic to dispense SNS tamiflu	Napa County Health and Human Services Agency Public Health Division	CA
11/11/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	School-based mass vaccination clinics in Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Department of Health	DC
11/11/2009	Communications - Vaccine Safety,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass vaccination clinics at city colleges in Chicago provide several lessons learned	Chicago Immunization Program	IL
11/11/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass vaccinaton in Chicago uses "Disney" concept	Chicago Department of Health	IL
11/11/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass clinic for high risk children proves effective	Barberton Health District	OH
11/11/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass vaccination in Champaign County, IL	Champaign-Urbana Public Health District	IL
11/11/2009	Communications - Priority Groups,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Massachusetts Immunization Program targets high-risk children	Massachusetts Immunization Program	MA
11/10/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Vaccine planning in St. Louis--a driving city	St. Louis County Department of Health	MO
11/10/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass vaccination clinics in IL uses wristband strategy	Kane County Health Department	IL
11/10/2009	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Local health department copes with inconsistent federal messages	Casper-Natrona County Health Department	WY
11/10/2009	Communications - Vaccine Safety,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Mass vaccination hindered by vaccine safety distrust and staff unfamiliarity with ICS structure.	Casper-Natrona County Health Department	WY
11/10/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Creative time card system reduces wait time at mass vaccination clinic	Independence Health Department	MO
11/06/2009	Vaccine Planning and Administration	Website for scheduling H1N1 vaccinations at private clinics proves successful	Home Care Plus	IA
11/06/2009	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Planning and Administration	Schenectady Vaccine Collaborative	Schenectady County Public Health Services	NY
10/26/2009	Communications - General H1N1,Vaccine Supply and Distribution	LHD struggles with staffing, vaccine supply, and other issues	El Paso County Department of Health and Environment	CO
10/21/2009	Vaccine Supply and Distribution	Seasonal flu demand swamps public clinics	Cambridge Public Health Department	MA
10/10/2009		Health care partners appreciate our weekly situation report	Marion County Health Department	IN
05/21/2009	Communications - General H1N1,State and Local Coordination	Good communication and information sharing key to success	Cecil County Health Department	MD
05/19/2009	State and Local Coordination,Surveillance and Epidemiology	Temporary laboratory staffed by MRC volunteers serves local community physicians and health department	Denton County Health Department	TX
05/15/2009	State and Local Coordination	ICS - Need for Unified Command with Hospitals	Public Health Muskegon County	MI
05/14/2009	Communications - General H1N1,Community Mitigation,Medical Care and Countermeasures,State and Local Coordination,Surveillance and Epidemiology	Communication is Key: One LHD's Response to the Outbreak of Novel H1N1	Kane County Health Department	IL
05/13/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures	Ill-equipped providers and school nurses; clamor for H1N1 testing	Hunterdon County Department of Health	NJ
05/11/2009	State and Local Coordination	Coming together as a consortium: 6 different health departments planning for preparedness for six years together	La Crosse County Health Department / Coulee Region Public Health Consortium	WI
05/11/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures	Where would Region 3 store its SNS stockpile?	Lewis County Health Department	WA
05/11/2009	Medical Care and Countermeasures,State and Local Coordination	Good communication and collaboration at local level	Yuma County Public Health Services District	AZ
05/08/2009	Communications - General H1N1	Using social media to communicate during emergencies	Contra Costa Health Services	CA
05/08/2009	Communications - General H1N1,State and Local Coordination	Incident management team proves critical	Coconino County Health Department	AZ
05/06/2009	Communications - General H1N1,State and Local Coordination	Incident Command Support can work	Canton City Health Department	OH
05/06/2009	State and Local Coordination	Exceptional cooperation in with Incident Command	Spokane Regional Health District	WA
05/06/2009	State and Local Coordination	Inadequate staffing and resources	Clay County Health Dept	IN
05/06/2009	Communications - General H1N1,State and Local Coordination	Preparedness planning pays off for rural local health department	Polk County Health Department	WI
05/05/2009	State and Local Coordination	Staff of small public health agency strained by H1N1 pandemic.	Prowers County Public Health	CO