Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County administrator honors two public-health nurses as ‘tuberculosis heroes’ during World TB Day update
Summary
Clackamas County’s administrator recognized two communicable-disease nurses for being named tuberculosis “heroes” by the Oregon Health Authority and summarized the county’s legal duties on TB control, noting about 70 cases occur in Oregon each year.
The County Administrator recognized two communicable-disease nurses for their work on tuberculosis and said the Oregon Health Authority honored them as tuberculosis “heroes” on March 24, World Tuberculosis Day.
The acknowledgement came during a routine county-administrator update, in which the administrator said tuberculosis remains present in the United States and estimated “approximately 70 cases of tuberculosis in Oregon every year.” The administrator reminded attendees that, under Oregon law, local public-health authorities are required to treat tuberculosis, provide education, manage cases and conduct contact tracing to contain spread.
The administrator read statements from the Oregon Health Authority praising the nurses’ work. Regarding one nurse, the OHA said, “You never fail to help out others and offer solutions no matter how busy you are. Your thoughtful care and attention to patients regardless of the complexity is inspiring.” The OHA also said of the second nurse, “We are so grateful for all that you do. You never fail to help out other local public health authorities. No matter how busy you might be, your thoughtful care and concern for patients amaze and inspire us. Congratulations and thank you.”
The administrator identified the two county employees as Caroli Asher and Renee Jenkins, communicable-disease nurses in the county’s public-health division, and congratulated them on the recognition. The update closed after the congratulations.
Why it matters: Tuberculosis remains a public-health responsibility at the county level; the administrator’s remarks reiterated statutory duties—treatment, case management, education and contact tracing—and highlighted the role of front-line nurses in those efforts.
Details and context: The administrator cited an approximate statewide case count and emphasized routine public-health case work; no new policy, funding change or vote was proposed during the update.
The administrator’s update concluded with congratulations to the two nurses.
