Safe Kids Coalitions Offer Safety Events throughout Utah

(Salt Lake City) – Preventable injuries are the number one cause of death among children ages 0-19. Every year more than 8,000 families in the United States and more than one million families worldwide will lose a child due to a preventable injury. Millions more children are injured in ways that may affect them for a lifetime.

Safe Kids Utah will join the nationwide Safe Kids Day celebration throughout April and May to teach parents and caregivers how to keep their children safe at home, play, and on the road. “As part of Safe Kids Day, we ask every family to join the #MyHigh5 campaign and choose five things that they can do to keep their family safe, like installing smoke alarms or getting a car seat installed correctly,” said Cambree Applegate, Director of Safe Kids Utah.

As part of the celebration, local Safe Kids coalitions will offer free safety events and car seat checkpoints throughout the state. Events will be held:

• Tuesday, April 26 – Car seat checkpoint from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Duane’s Food Town (400 S Main St, Fillmore)
• Wednesday, April 27 – Car seat checkpoint from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mike’s Food Town (270 N Main St, Beaver)
• Saturday, April 30 – Car seat checkpoint from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cedar City Middle School (2215 W Royal Hunte Dr, Cedar City)
• Saturday, April 30 – Car seat safety booth from 10 a.m.to 1 p.m. at the Logan City Rec. Center (195 S 100 W, Logan)
• Wednesday, May 4 –  Booster seat education from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in local pre-schools (395 East Center Street, Moab)
• Friday, May 6 – Car seat checkpoint, helmet raffle, and a barbeque from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Gus Paulos Chevrolet (4050 3500 S, West Valley City)
• Friday, May 6 – Car seat checkpoint from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Mt. Nebo Market (965 N Main St, Nephi)
• Saturday, May 7 – OHV education course for ages 8+ starting at 9 a.m. at the Sheriff’s Office in Hurricane Utah (750 South 5300 West, Hurricane)
• Saturday , May 7 – Safe Kids Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Legacy Events Center (151 S 1100 W, Farmington)
• Saturday, May 14 – Safe Kids Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Newgate Mall (3651 Wall Ave, Ogden)
• Tuesday, May 17 – Health and safety fair from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Southfield Park (1200 W Midway Lane, Heber City)
• Friday, May 27 – Bicycle safety clinic from 12:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Trailside Park (5715 Trailside Drive, Park City)
• Saturday, June 4 – Health and safety fair along with car seat inspection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Macey’s (972 N Main St, Tooele)
• Saturday, June 11 – Safety fair from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Riverton Hospital (3741 12600 S, Riverton)
• Thursday, June 16 – Car seat checkpoint from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Timpanogos Hospital (750 W 800 N, Orem)

“Safe Kids Day has one simple, but critical goal – working together as a community to raise awareness about preventable injuries so kids can grow up to do all the great things kids were meant to do,” said Applegate. “These events are a time to celebrate kids and make learning about safety fun.” 

For more information about preventing child injuries and Safe Kids Utah, visit http://safekidsutah.org.

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Media Contact:
Cambree Applegate
Safe Kids Utah
(o) 801-538-6852 (m) 435-862-8773

Community Health Workers Fly Under the Radar to Fill a Critical Role in Healthcare

(Salt Lake City, UT) – You may know them as a health advisor, advocate, promotora, or even a health navigator, but what all Community Health Workers (CHWs) have in common is the trust of the people they serve. CHWs are skilled laypeople who share similar life circumstances or shared cultures with their clients. They act as a liaison between their community and health and social services, assisting and educating the people they serve to live the healthiest lives possible.

You’ll find these talented, caring individuals in a variety of settings and positions throughout Utah working as paid staff or volunteers. Whether it’s helping at-risk pregnant women, aging seniors, or recovering addicts, the goal is helping individuals deal with and overcome their own health challenges.

"Patients struggle to access healthcare because of language barriers, cultural issues, or financial challenges,” said Anna Guymon, Community Health Worker Specialist with the Utah Department of Health. “Often these challenges are concentrated in low-income communities. Since, CHWs come from similar neighborhoods, speak the same language, and share the culture, they are able to connect with these patients on a level others in healthcare can’t."

Many partners have come together to create a coalition to provide CHWs with training, and additional resources. “Intermountain is excited to support this effort,” said Jessica Strong, CHW Project Consultant for Intermountain Healthcare. Intermountain will provide $1.2 million over the next three years to these efforts. “As a not-for-profit healthcare system, Intermountain Healthcare’s priority is to improve health in the communities we serve, and know that building partnerships and developing resources such as the CHW project will go a long way towards that goal.”

What makes CHWs so valuable?

• CHWs can help reduce the overall cost of healthcare in Utah by emphasizing prevention and teaching the proper use of healthcare services.
• Studies show that programs utilizing CHWs have improved patient health behaviors and outcomes such as greater patient health knowledge.
• CHWs assist traditionally underserved individuals to receive proper healthcare. Healthcare providers can benefit from the skills, community knowledge, and cultural literacy CHWs offer which can help them to connect better with their patients.

In an effort to better organize and prepare CHWs for the future healthcare needs of the state, a pre-conference session focused on CHWs will be held as part of the Utah Public Health Association's annual conference on Monday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.upha.org.

For more information on CHWs in Utah, visit http://ow.ly/100Bqt.

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Media Contact:
Dave Mecham
 (801) 538-6654
dmecham@utah.gov

UDOH Issues Results of Hepatitis C Investigation

(Salt Lake City, Utah) – The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) today announced the on-going investigation of a hepatitis C outbreak associated with a health care worker who was employed at two northern Utah hospitals has identified the following:

	Patients Notified of Potential Exposure	Patients Tested	Confirmed Cases of Hepatitis C, Genotype 2b
McKay-Dee Hospital	4,855	2,922	15
Davis Hospital	2,362	809	1
Total	7,217	3,731	16

Hepatitis C can be divided into several distinct genotypes based on genetic markers of the virus. The genotype associated with this outbreak was identified as 2b, and the UDOH focused its investigation on finding cases with a matching genotype.

Of the 15 genotype 2b cases from McKay-Dee Hospital, one is the original case, one is the health care worker, and six were found to be infected with hepatitis C prior to the investigation. Three of those six were known to be infected with genotype 2b prior to the investigation.

In addition to the 16 total genotype 2b cases, the investigation also identified 37 cases of hepatitis C with other genotypes. These additional cases are not considered to be associated with this investigation. Seven cases are currently pending genotype results.

“This investigation should show Utah residents their public health system is serving them well,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, a CDC epidemiologist stationed at the UDOH. “By partnering with the two hospitals we were able to identify an infectious health care worker, establish that the worker may have exposed patients, test those patients, and provide them with testing results. Everyone working on this outbreak should be proud of these accomplishments.”

Dr. Dunn will be available for media interviews today at 10:30 a.m. at the Cannon Health Building, 288 North 1460 West, Salt Lake City, room 125.

The UDOH launched the investigation in 2015 after tracing the likely exposure of a hepatitis C case to McKay-Dee Hospital. The investigation found a link to a health care worker who was infected with hepatitis C and was discovered to be taking drugs intended for patients and using them for other purposes. The scope of the investigation broadened after discovering the same health care worker was also previously employed at nearby Davis Hospital and Medical Center, and had admitted to engaging in similar behavior there.

“This investigation has been a massive undertaking for both the hospitals and for public health,” said Dunn. “We commend the hospitals for doing the right thing and ensuring their patients were alerted to the situation and provided free testing and access to treatment where necessary.”

Despite these efforts, there are many individuals who may have been exposed who have still not been tested. Both hospitals will continue to offer free testing to any patients who were notified of their potential exposure; and both continue to strongly recommend testing for those who haven’t yet been tested.

Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver that can cause both short and long-term illness. Symptoms can range from nausea, fever, joint pain, jaundice, cancer or death if left untreated. The disease is spread when the blood of an infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected. The majority of people infected with hepatitis C have no symptoms for up to 25 years.

For more information on this outbreak, and on hepatitis C, visit the UDOH web site at http://www.health.utah.gov/epi/diseases/hepatitisC/investigation.

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Media Contact:

Tom Hudachko

Utah Department of Health

801-538-6232 

thudachko@utah.gov

Safe Kids Utah Receives $120k Donation to Prevent Childhood Injuries

(Salt Lake City, UT) – Unintentional injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, drowning, and poisoning continue to be the number one killer of children ages one to 18 in Utah. Fortunately, there are effective ways to prevent many of these tragedies from even occurring. Thanks to a generous donation from Intermountain Healthcare, Safe Kids Utah will now be able to expand safety programs across the state such as car seat checkups, ATV safety clinics, and other education programs that teach children, parents, and caregivers how to prevent unintentional childhood injuries.

“When a child dies or is seriously injured, the lives of families and communities are changed forever. But these tragedies don’t have to happen. The important thing to remember about preventable injuries is that they are preventable. They often occur in predictable ways and can be completely avoided with the right education, awareness, and planning,” said Cambree Applegate, Safe Kids Utah director. “This donation will allow Safe Kids Utah to increase our efforts to teach parents how to keep their children safe while at home, at play, or on the road.”

Prevention efforts lead by Safe Kids Utah over the last two decades have worked. From 1999 to 2014, there has been a 60 percent decrease in the rate of unintentional injury deaths among Utah children ages one to 18 (12.9 per 100,000 in 1999 vs. 5.1 in 2014).

“As a not-for-profit healthcare system, Intermountain Healthcare’s priority is to improve health in the communities we serve,” said Mikelle Moore, vice president of Community Benefit for Intermountain Healthcare. “We are grateful to assist Safe Kids Utah to meet their goals to prevent unintentional childhood injuries.”

Safe Kids Utah was organized in 1995 to address the issue of childhood injuries and to look for better ways to keep kids safe. Safe Kids Utah is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization housed within the Utah Department of Health.

“Our vision is to reduce preventable childhood injury. In partnership with Intermountain Healthcare, other valuable partners, and Safe Kids coalitions throughout the state, we advocate for effective laws, educate adults and children to provide safe environments, and empower local communities,” stated Applegate.

Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system based in Salt Lake City. Recognized for its excellent clinical care and low costs, Intermountain strives to help people live the healthiest lives possible.

For more information about preventing child injuries and Safe Kids Utah, visit http://safekidsutah.org.

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Cambree Applegate
Safe Kids Utah Coordinator
(o) 801-538-6852 (m) 435-862-8773

First Case of Zika Virus Disease Reported in Utah

(Salt Lake City) – Utah public health officials have received confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that a Utah resident has tested positive for the Zika virus. The patient, a child between the ages of two and 10 years, recently traveled to an affected country before returning to Utah. The child exhibited symptoms, including the typical rash, and has not experienced any complications.

“It isn’t surprising that Utah has an imported case of Zika virus since so many of our residents travel to and from areas where the disease is currently being transmitted,” said Dr. Allyn Nakashima, State Epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH). She adds, “Zika virus, with the possible link to the birth defect microcephaly, is understandably frightening.” Since there is no vaccine to prevent Zika virus, and no specific medical treatment for those who are infected, the UDOH urges all who may be considering travel to the growing number of affected countries to take the necessary precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The mosquito that is spreading the virus in the affected countries isn't currently found in Utah. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html for the most current list of countries affected by Zika virus. Sexual transmission of Zika virus can occur, although there is limited data about the risk. The virus generally only causes fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes, and is almost always a very mild illness. Most people won’t require testing. Approximately 80 percent of those infected never show any symptoms of the disease, while approximately 20 percent will have only mild symptoms.

Public health officials encourage pregnant women to postpone traveling to affected areas, if possible, or talk to their health care provider before considering travel. For anyone who does plan to visit the affected countries, prevention is the best approach to avoiding Zika virus infection. Steps to prevent mosquito bites include using insect repellents containing DEET, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and removing standing water where mosquitoes live and breed.

The UDOH and CDC are monitoring the situation closely.

For more information on Zika virus and how to protect yourself, visit www.cdc.gov/zika. For women who are pregnant and have questions about Zika virus, please call the MotherToBaby program at 1-800-822-2229, text 855-999-3525, or chat live or email www.MotherToBaby.org.

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Media Contact
Becky Ward, UDOH
(o) 801-538-6682
(c) 801-352-1270