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Tight-lipped state frustrates flu task force
By JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News
Updated: 06/04/2009 11:14:24 PM EDT
Leaders of the Lebanon County Avian Flu Task Force are frustrated with the lack of information they are receiving from the state Department of Health about the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
But a state official says the department is simply following the law in protecting patient confidentiality, and at this time, more detailed information is not necessary to protect the public?s health.
Task force members Emergency Management Agency Director Dan Kauffman, EMA planning officer Brian Burke and county Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum told the county commissioners yesterday that the state provides them with the same information the general public can learn from the Department of Health?s Web site.
As of 3 p.m. yesterday, there were 13 confirmed and four probable cases of H1N1 virus in the county, according to the Web site, http://www.health.state.pa.us/H1N1Map/.
Now you know all that Kauffman and Yocum know. Kauffman said he has been in touch with his superiors at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to urge the Department of Health to be more forthcoming, but so far that has not helped.
?In my six years with the county, every disaster, every emergency has been coordinated and the dissemination of information has come through the (state) Emergency Management Agency,? he said. ?In this particular situation, the Department of Health has been of absolutely no value to us other than to provide the number of cases in our county.?
Commissioner Larry Stohler, a former Department of Health executive, said he also has been in discussion with agency officials without much success.
Kauffman and Yocum said more specific information, including age, gender and residency should be released to help with planning, so they could notify schools and businesses should they be at risk.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said the agency is simply following the state?s Disease Prevention and Control Act, which does not permit information about a patient to be released unless it is necessary to protect the public?s safety. That privacy ensures cooperation from the public, she contended.
?I understand their frustration, but the law prevents us from sharing that information,? Stacey Kriedeman said. ?There are instances we have to provide more information because a public-health action has to take place, but when that is not the case, we are very protective of that personal information.?
In the past, the state has provided more detailed information about those infected with West Nile virus. But, Kriedeman said, that policy was established many years ago and is being reviewed.
Information is shared with schools and others on a need-to-know basis, Kriedeman said.
That was the case this week, when the Department of Health contacted Lebanon School District Superintendent Marianne Bartley after three flu cases were confirmed at Henry Houck Elementary. The cases were confirmed on Friday, but Bartley was not reached until Monday morning, and no other county officials were notified.
As the situation changes, more personal information may be released, Kriedeman said.
?It is important to remember that outbreak situations are dynamic, and there may be a time when we release more information to protect the public?s health, but we are not at that point,? Kriedeman said.
Although the commissioners said the name of the task force had nothing to do with its not receiving more information, they voted to change its name to the Pandemic Influenza Task Force to better reflect its purpose. Yocum was appointed as its spokesman.
JohnLatimer@LDNews.com
Tight-lipped state frustrates flu task force
By JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News
Updated: 06/04/2009 11:14:24 PM EDT
Leaders of the Lebanon County Avian Flu Task Force are frustrated with the lack of information they are receiving from the state Department of Health about the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
But a state official says the department is simply following the law in protecting patient confidentiality, and at this time, more detailed information is not necessary to protect the public?s health.
Task force members Emergency Management Agency Director Dan Kauffman, EMA planning officer Brian Burke and county Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum told the county commissioners yesterday that the state provides them with the same information the general public can learn from the Department of Health?s Web site.
As of 3 p.m. yesterday, there were 13 confirmed and four probable cases of H1N1 virus in the county, according to the Web site, http://www.health.state.pa.us/H1N1Map/.
Now you know all that Kauffman and Yocum know. Kauffman said he has been in touch with his superiors at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to urge the Department of Health to be more forthcoming, but so far that has not helped.
?In my six years with the county, every disaster, every emergency has been coordinated and the dissemination of information has come through the (state) Emergency Management Agency,? he said. ?In this particular situation, the Department of Health has been of absolutely no value to us other than to provide the number of cases in our county.?
Commissioner Larry Stohler, a former Department of Health executive, said he also has been in discussion with agency officials without much success.
Kauffman and Yocum said more specific information, including age, gender and residency should be released to help with planning, so they could notify schools and businesses should they be at risk.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said the agency is simply following the state?s Disease Prevention and Control Act, which does not permit information about a patient to be released unless it is necessary to protect the public?s safety. That privacy ensures cooperation from the public, she contended.
?I understand their frustration, but the law prevents us from sharing that information,? Stacey Kriedeman said. ?There are instances we have to provide more information because a public-health action has to take place, but when that is not the case, we are very protective of that personal information.?
In the past, the state has provided more detailed information about those infected with West Nile virus. But, Kriedeman said, that policy was established many years ago and is being reviewed.
Information is shared with schools and others on a need-to-know basis, Kriedeman said.
That was the case this week, when the Department of Health contacted Lebanon School District Superintendent Marianne Bartley after three flu cases were confirmed at Henry Houck Elementary. The cases were confirmed on Friday, but Bartley was not reached until Monday morning, and no other county officials were notified.
As the situation changes, more personal information may be released, Kriedeman said.
?It is important to remember that outbreak situations are dynamic, and there may be a time when we release more information to protect the public?s health, but we are not at that point,? Kriedeman said.
Although the commissioners said the name of the task force had nothing to do with its not receiving more information, they voted to change its name to the Pandemic Influenza Task Force to better reflect its purpose. Yocum was appointed as its spokesman.
JohnLatimer@LDNews.com