Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi announced today that a fourth program developed by the Nassau County Department of Health has been cited for “outstanding contributions in local public health practice” and will be included in the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) prestigious Model Practices Database.

NACCHO’s new model practices database is an online, searchable collection of successful practices covering a broad range of public health areas. These prototype programs enable local public health agencies to “share what works.” The database is now available.

The newest Health Department program to be added to the database is Videophone Monitoring of SARS Patients in Voluntary Home Isolation. This approach was developed in order to control the spread of SARS by monitoring patients in home isolation and quarantine. Patients can be contacted throughout the day by telephoning and turning on the two-way attached videoscreen.

The other three programs previously announced are: 1) a program that provides targeted testing and case management for high-risk populations to minimize the occurrence of tuberculosis in the new immigrant population, which represents 78% of Nassau’s TB cases; 2) one that conducts a comprehensive review process including water and food protection, general sanitation, air quality, lead hazards and proximity to contaminated or hazardous waste sites and 3) an Incident Command System (ICS) that improves a health department’s response to public health emergencies and strengthens working relationships with police, fire, EMS and local hospitals.

“I congratulate the Health Department,” said Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, “for its leadership, innovation and responsiveness in addressing community health issues. These programs demonstrate how our Nassau County agencies and our community partners can effectively and successfully work together.”

NACCHO President Jody Henry Hershey, MD, MPH said, “While there are many health departments throughout the nation doing laudable work in their communities, these four sustainable collective model programs reach the core of public health.”