FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2020

#PublicHealthIsHere4U

MEDIA SERIES DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH EFFORTS

New City, NY, - Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announce the latest update to the #PublicHealthIsHere4U media series, which highlights local COVID-19 public health efforts that are keeping our community safe. The series highlights county employees and volunteers that have come together to help battle this disease through the implementation of public health measures.

Today's #PublicHealthIsHere4U update features the essential public health role of COVID-19 case investigation, which has involved a team of county employees and volunteers contacting all residents that have tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, the Health Department's Disease Control and Prevention Program has been working overtime to learn more about COVID-19 and how it is spreading in Rockland County. Case investigation involves finding out when the person got sick, the symptoms they experienced, where the person went before they became ill and while they were ill, and who they have been in contact with.

Health Department employee and Supervising Public Health Nurse, Judi Doherty, has borne witness to the effects of many infectious diseases, specifically as the head nurse for the county's tuberculosis (TB) program. "In public health, we always have two patients, the individual, and the community. TB is a scary disease to many, but with TB, we can both cure the person and protect the public. With this novel coronavirus, we have been robbed of our ability to cure and protect. It has been terrifying, humbling, and heartbreaking," said Judi Doherty.

Judi and her staff continue to serve the needs of county residents with active TB, but with the outbreak of COVID-19, they spend most of their time on case investigations. Case Investigators limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community by looking into cases and exposures to the virus and identifying potential links to others. This investigation work involves but is not limited to managing COVID-19 case files, training volunteers and county employees, contacting residents who are COVID-19 positive, providing guidelines on isolation and quarantine to prevent spreading COVID-19 to others, and following up with vulnerable residents to ensure their needs are met. Early in the outbreak before masks and social distancing, many essential workers, including public health nurses, fell ill. Many are now back to work and ready to work on understanding and defeating COVID-19 for as long as it takes.

Judi belongs to an investigation team that has worked around the clock to investigate cases of COVID-19. "Within days, we were slammed with hundreds upon hundreds of reports of COVID-positive patients. Twice a day, information is downloaded, resulting in papers piled more than a foot high. RCDOH staff recruited and trained volunteers and staff from other county departments. However, even with between 40-60 case investigators, it was difficult to keep up. There were just too many sick people and not enough of us," said Judi Doherty.

The Health Department is hopeful that its public health investigations and contact tracing will help end this pandemic. "Every investigation, every tiny bit of information that we get from every patient, helps us flesh out and understand COVID-19. That is what public health does; we learn how the disease grows and harms or kills us, and then we find ways to disarm and defeat it," said Judi Doherty.

For more information or questions, call the Rockland County COVID-19 Hotline at 845-238-1956, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm or email COVIDCallCenter@co.rockland.ny.us. For local COVID-19 information and resources, visit the county's coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage at http://rcklnd.us/covid19 or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockhealth or Twitter at www.twitter.com/rockhealth for more information.

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