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Buncombe County celebrates National Nurses Week, honoring the contributions and hard work that nurses around the country do to ensure the health of the community.
The work of the Communicable Disease team is action packed and very fascinating! In their everyday work beyond COVID-19, the Buncombe County Communicable Disease Program provides all things needed to prevent and control the spread of disease. This includes investigation, surveillance, reporting, and prevention activities needed to control communicable diseases including tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, West Nile Virus, and more.
Communicable Disease
Services: The Buncombe County Communicable Disease Program provides all things needed to prevent and control the spread of disease. This includes investigation, surveillance, reporting, and prevention activities needed to control communicable diseases including tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, West Nile Virus, and more.
Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: 40 Coxe Avenue, Asheville N.C. 28801
Supervisor: Susan Creede
As part of the Communicable Disease program, the team also provides tuberculosis control including physician review and recommendation, treatment of disease and infection, surveillance, and investigation all at no charge.
The program’s Vector Borne Illness Prevention addresses diseases caused by mosquito infections such as La Crosse encephalitis, West Nile virus, and Zika, all of which are very dangerous for children. This preventative program is determined to “FIGHT THE BITE” by spreading the word to communities about getting rid of standing water and the use of screens and repellent.
The team works to surveil the community and mitigate the spread of the 99 currently reportable communicable diseases, says Public Health Nurse Susan Creede. In addition, the team’s work involves forming partnerships.
“We strive to maintain strong community relationships with our local partners in order to receive data and comply with public health law,” Susan says. “This partnership enables the Communicable Disease team to investigate individual cases as they arise to prevent clusters and outbreaks of diseases; the findings are then reported to the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Communicable Disease nurses use their investigation and communication skills to tease out details and identify infectious dates, sources, and scope of a contagion.
“We are most proud of the perseverance of this nursing team and their continued compassion, evolution, and commitment to all those with whom we live, work, and play,” Susan says.