Coronavirus Disease among Workers in Food Processing, Food Manufacturing, and Agriculture Workplaces.

We describe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among US food manufacturing and agriculture workers and provide updated information on meat and poultry processing workers. Among 742 food and agriculture workplaces in 30 states, 8,978 workers had confirmed COVID-19; 55 workers died. Racial and ethnic minority workers could be disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Update: COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities - United States, April-May 2020.

Meat and poultry processing facilities face distinctive challenges in the control of infectious diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (1). COVID-19 outbreaks among meat and poultry processing facility workers can rapidly affect large numbers of persons. Assessment of COVID-19 cases among workers in 115 meat and poultry processing facilities through April 27, 2020, documented 4,913 cases and 20 deaths reported by 19 states (1). This report provides updated aggregate data from states regarding the number of meat and poultry processing facilities affected by COVID-19, the number and demographic characteristics of affected workers, and the number of COVID-19-associated deaths among workers, as well as descriptions of interventions and prevention efforts at these facilities. Aggregate data on confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths among workers identified and reported through May 31, 2020, were obtained from 239 affected facilities (those with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case in one or more workers) in 23 states.* COVID-19 was confirmed in 16,233 workers, including 86 COVID-19-related deaths. Among 14 states reporting the total number of workers in affected meat and poultry processing facilities (112,616), COVID-19 was diagnosed in 9.1% of workers. Among 9,919 (61%) cases in 21 states with reported race/ethnicity, 87% occurred among racial and ethnic minority workers. Commonly reported interventions and prevention efforts at facilities included implementing worker temperature or symptom screening and COVID-19 education, mandating face coverings, adding hand hygiene stations, and adding physical barriers between workers. Targeted workplace interventions and prevention efforts that are appropriately tailored to the groups most affected by COVID-19 are critical to reducing both COVID-19-associated occupational risk and health disparities among vulnerable populations. Implementation of these interventions and prevention efforts† across meat and poultry processing facilities nationally could help protect workers in this critical infrastructure industry.

Community Health Teams: A Healthcare Provider's System Transformation Opportunity.

"The goal of community health teams is to develop and implement care models that integrate clinical and community health promotion and preventive services for patients." -Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)1 Eleven community health teams (CHTs) operate in various geographies within Rhode Island. Physicians and payers refer their highest-risk patients to CHTs that serve as community extenders. Community health workers and others work to link referred individuals to primary care and work to address the other determinants affecting their health, such as safe housing. Since much of health is driven by factors outside of the healthcare setting, CHTs compliment the work of physicians within the office environment. Transforming practices and addressing both the physical and behavioral needs of patients simultaneously is key to CHT success. This article attempts to quantify the expanding need for CHTs within Rhode Island and describes ways in which CHTs as a practice transformation resource may be leveraged by providers. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2016-10.asp].

Design of the national health security preparedness index.

The importance of health security in the United States has been highlighted by recent emergencies such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Superstorm Sandy, and the Boston Marathon bombing. The nation's health security remains a high priority today, with federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, as well as nongovernment organizations and the private sector, engaging in activities that prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from health threats. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), led an effort to create an annual measure of health security preparedness at the national level. The collaborative released the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI(™)) in December 2013 and provided composite results for the 50 states and for the nation as a whole. The Index results represent current levels of health security preparedness in a consistent format and provide actionable information to drive decision making for continuous improvement of the nation's health security. The overall 2013 National Index result was 7.2 on the reported base-10 scale, with areas of greater strength in the domains of health surveillance, incident and information management, and countermeasure management. The strength of the Index relies on the interdependencies of the many elements in health security preparedness, making the sum greater than its parts. Moving forward, additional health security-related disciplines and measures will be included alongside continued validation efforts.