Epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases (ELC) - the south carolina department of public health (DPH) is the state regulatory agency charged with…

Epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases (ELC) - the south carolina department of public health (DPH) is the state regulatory agency charged with promoting and protecting the state's public health as authorized by federal and state law. South carolina has a centralized public health structure in which there are no autonomous county health authorities. Our application for CK24-0002 aims to continue to enhance our capacity to effectively detect, respond, prevent and control known and emerging/RE-emerging infectious diseases. The enclosed application targets fourteen (14) of the twenty-one (21) programs and projects included in the notice of funding opportunity for budget period 1 (BP1). Our focus in BP1 is to address key capacity gaps that will allow US to sustain the significant gains achieved from pandemic investments. To accomplish this, our proposal is centered around the following key strategies: 1) enhancing and sustaining a highly skilled, diverse workforce; 2) improving surveillance, reporting, investigation, preparedness, and response; 3) strengthening laboratory testing for surveillance, detection, preparedness, and response; 4) enhancing coordination and collaboration among epidemiology, laboratory, and health information systems; 5) sustaining and enhancing health information systems, electronic data exchange, and an enterprise infrastructure in line with data modernization efforts; and 6) supporting the collection, use, and reporting of actionable data, including data to advance health equity.