[Archived] Alexandria Health Department Expands Bioterrorism Efforts

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria Health Department Expands Bioterrorism Efforts

As part of the City’s expanded efforts in response to security concerns, the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) has hired additional staff to focus on bioterrorism.

Kathleen K. DeSnyder is the new AHD Bioterrorism Epidemiologist. She received a Masters of Public Health Degree in epidemiology from the University of Michigan. Serving as Alexandria Health Department Epidemiologist since April, 2001, Ms. DeSnyder has served on the AHD Syndromic Surveillance team, the AHD Communicable Disease Committee, and was instrumental in writing an application to the Centers for Disease Control for a CDC Public Health Prevention Specialist.

As the new AHD Bioterrorism Epidemiologist, Ms. DeSnyder will participate in the response and investigation of all outbreaks and emergencies, deliver training to enhance the epidemiological capacity of district staff, perform a community needs assessment to determine the health status of the district population and adequacy of health delivery systems, and implement new strategies to improve collaboration for surveillance and investigation-related activities.

Nida V. Mickus joined the AHD as Emergency Planner. After receiving her Masters of Public Health Degree from the Medical College of Virginia, she worked in Emergency Medical Services and in Naval hospital disaster planning. Ms. Mickus will ensure Alexandria develops and maintains up-to-date, adequate plans for responding to acts of bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health emergencies and threats.

Ms. Mickus will develop and maintain plans for receiving and distributing the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile. She will also be in charge of developing and maintaining a local Bioterrorism/Emergency Communications Plan, and ensuring that clear, consistent messages about bioterrorism are developed and provided to the public and other targeted groups.

Charlotte Stahl joined the AHD as Communicable Disease Nursing Supervisor. After receiving her MSN in Nursing Management from Youngstown State University in Ohio, Ms. Stahl worked as the Health Administrator for Youngstown City Health District and as an Infection Control Practitioner for a hospital.

Ms. Stahl’s duties will include responsibility for tuberculosis control, communicable disease nursing management, and the nursing part of our emergency response team, including planning and education.

For more information, call the Alexandria Health Department at 703.838.4872