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Hepatitis A is a communicable liver infection that is preventable by vaccine. The disease is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). According to the CDC, hepatitis A rates in the United States “have declined by more than 95% since the hepatitis A vaccine first became available in 1995.” Since November 2017, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has confirmed 1,182 cases of hepatitis A, including 619 hospitalizations and four deaths. As a result of this outbreak, 134,383 vaccinations have been administered. Per ISDH data, average number of cases in Indiana prior to 2017 was twenty per year.

Topics

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe hepatitis A, including prevent, transmission and exposure, populations at risk, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, and vaccination
2. Understand the epidemiology profile of the Indiana hepatitis A outbreak, including number of cases, deaths, hospitalizations, vaccines administered, and partner services
3. Summarize the events and timeline of the hepatitis A outbreak in Indiana
4. Identify and describe the role that local and state level public health officials and DIS had in responding to the hepatitis A outbreak
5. Identify best practices for partnering between local health departments and other public health professionals to reduce or eliminate hepatitis A in Indiana communities

Presenters

• Julie Hartley, BS, has served as a disease intervention specialist for Indiana’s STD District 7 for almost five years. She received her degree in public health from Indiana University in Bloomington and loved the town so much she decided to stay. She has a passion for sexual health education and an interest in STDs in the healthiest way possible. During the start of her career, she assisted with the HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana. Julie is a homebody who relaxes in her free time by playing video games, reading, and spending quality time with her pets and husband.

• Kira Richardson, MHA, is a disease intervention specialist for the Indiana State Department of Health. She conducts communicable disease field investigations, and she provides information to physicians, local health departments, and medical laboratories about preventing, detecting, diagnosing, treating and reporting communicable diseases. Prior to joining ISDH, Kira worked for Centerstone of Indiana, where she was the lead prevention specialist for an HIV and substance abuse prevention grant. Kira studied at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, where she received her master’s degree in health administration. She has experiencing in acute care, military, and public health settings. Kira grew up in Illinois but currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband Brian and daughter Alexa. Kira loves traveling, spending time with family, and engaging with her local community through volunteer work.

• Nicole Stone, MPH, is a 2016 graduate from Indiana University’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. She has worked in public health for over five years, first with the Marion County Public Health Department starting in 2013, then with the Indiana State Department of Health since 2016. Nicole has worked in chronic disease as a community outreach worker with the Marion County Public Health Department and assisted in communitywide projects related to tobacco control, diabetes education, and food access initiatives. As the foodborne and waterborne disease epidemiologist in the Epidemiology Resource Center at ISDH, Nicole specializes in pathogenic reportable diseases such as hepatitis A, viral gastroenteritis, Legionellosis, cryptosporidium, and giardia. Since December 2017, Nicole has been the lead epidemiologist on the Indiana hepatitis A outbreak response and has contributed to reports and surveillance. Nicole earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Indiana University in 2012.

Registration

Registration for this webinar is free for participants in the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening Program and grantees of the ISDH Division of HIV/STD/Viral Hepatitis. Registration for all others is $25.

Audience

Advanced practice nurses, licensed physicians, physician assistants, disease intervention specialists, local health department staff, and other health care professionals.

Nursing Contact Hours

A total of 1.0 nursing contact hours are available for this event.

Health Care Education and Training, Inc. is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (OBN-001-91) (OH-410, 12/1/2018)

About HCET

HCET’s mission is to provide comprehensive program development, education, and training to improve reproductive and sexual health outcomes.