Happy 2014! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. This New Year is really getting off to quite a bang with flu season in full swing, severely cold temperatures and contaminated water. It is our great pleasure to work with a wonderfully dedicated and knowledgeable group of people. They continually make personal sacrifices of time and energy away from family, lack of sleep, and mounting workload in their offices while they are busy working in Command Centers and EOCs to monitor and provide emergency support to communities and the public health and healthcare systems. In DHHR, our Health Command is comprised of staff from across the agency and other organizations. Their contribution of teamwork, expertise, professionalism and knowledge is essential for support/assistance with issues that are presented to Health Command. The diversity of the group allows for subject matter experts on site to quickly and accurately obtain needed information. Some of the partners we have had the privilege of working with during these incidents include:
Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Office of Emergency Medical Services
Office of Environmental Health Services
Office of Epidemiological and Prevention Services
Bureau for Medical Services
Office of Administration – General Services
Office of the Secretary
Bureau for Public Health
Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities
Local Hospitals, Long term care facilities, primary care facilities, dialysis centers and other healthcare entities
Local Health Departments
Office of Technology
Office of Laboratory Services
We thank our local, state and federal supporting partners that provide an invaluable service to citizens of the State of West Virginia. I’m proud be a part of this team that always rises to the challenges we face.