CHC gets $83K for infectious disease detection, outbreak response

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. recently received an $83,897 grant from the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program, which will help the local hospital create a program to prevent and detect infectious diseases in the community.

CHCC asked for $799,000 for equipment and personnel for the first year of the ELC program. It received 10.4 percent of the requested amount. About $65,000 is for the epidemiology program and $18,000 will be used for health information systems.

When sought for comment, CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muña said that they are grateful for the grant and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which the ELC is under, is leaving the door open for future assistance.

“CDC is leaving the door open for more possibilities for us to work continuously with them and help us in building the CNMI’s epidemiology and laboratory capacity to improve surveillance of infectious diseases and outbreaks,” she said.

The CNMI currently has no epidemiologist and infectious disease surveillance is split among various government entities. Tuberculosis surveillance is done at the Chest Clinic, while the hospital’s Infection Control Officer monitors hospital-acquired infection and others.

CHCC states that the grant will help establish and strengthen surveillance and reporting of infectious diseases in the CNMI.

The grant document states that the program will need to hire laboratory staff qualified to perform tissue processing and microbiology exams. It will also develop and sustain core personnel needed to support the growth of the program and maintenance.

If full funding is acquired, CHCC will be able to expand laboratory capacity, which will get additional equipment, including machines and supplies needed for the program.

The grant will also help CHCC establish a “syndromic surveillance information system” to help collect, compile, analyze, preserve and distribute information regarding possible infectious disease outbreaks in the CNMI.

The information produced by the syndromic system will help investigators verify the existence or non-existence of disease outbreaks and epidemiological studies of diseases or conditions that may pose an immediate or potential threat to the public wellbeing.

CHCC noted that they will share findings with the CNMI’s ELC governance team members and participants, including the Guam Department of Public Health and Human Services.

“This will help to facilitate and improve the timeliness and sharing of clinical and public health surveillance information for investigation and reporting purposes with the intent to quicken detection and response efforts to infectious disease outbreaks in the CNMI,” CHCC stated.