Mineola, NY – Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi announced today that four Nassau County programs have received national recognition. Three abstracts from the Department of Health and one abstract submitted jointly by the Department of Health and the Department of Senior Citizen Affairs were accepted for presentation at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in November 2005.

The abstracts include an oral presentation, “Emergency Preparedness Planning and Older Adults: Lessons Learned from the 2004 Influenza Vaccine Shortage,” and three poster presentations: “Integrating Emergency Preparedness: Strategies that Enhance Public Health Response,” “Raccoon Rabies: A Public Health Response Utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) Mapping,” and “Timely and Rapid Distribution of a Scarce Resource in a Time of Crisis: The Response of a Large Suburban Local Health Unit to the 2004 Influenza Vaccine Shortage.”

“I congratulate the Departments of Health and Senior Citizen Affairs,” said Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, “for their leadership, innovation and responsiveness in addressing important and emerging regional health issues that seriously impact the health of the residents of Nassau County. These programs demonstrate how Nassau County and our community partners can effectively work together.”

The APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attracting more than 13,000 national and international health specialists. The APHA meetings address current and emerging health science, policy, and practices issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.