Tuberculosis elimination and laboratory cooperative agreement - the chicago department of public health tuberculosis program works to save lives and improve health by curing and preventing-and…

Tuberculosis elimination and laboratory cooperative agreement - the chicago department of public health tuberculosis program works to save lives and improve health by curing and preventing-and eventually eliminating-TB among residents and visitors to chicago. As highlighted in the funding opportunity application, program staff work directly with people with TB disease, their close contacts, and other people at higher risk of TB infection and disease, using the proven practices of nurse case management, directly observed therapy (DOT), and contact investigation to achieve desired outcomes. As the local TB control authority, the cdph TB program confidentially collects, maintains, and summarizes information on TB cases and contacts to better understand risk factors, transmission patterns, and outcomes, and shares summary reports with stakeholders. Program staff serve as subject matter experts, assisting healthcare providers with TB diagnostic, treatment, and infection control questions. The program strives to stay up to date on advances in TB diagnosis, care, and prevention and to disseminate best practices with the local healthcare community. In addition to the above, cdph works closely with the cook county health division of pulmonary medicine to ensure high-quality, no-cost TB care is available for uninsured and low-income individuals in chicago. The program also maintains partnerships with local refugee-serving organizations, the federal port health station located at o'hare airport, multiple community based social services organizations, the illinois department of public health TB program and mycobacteriology laboratory, and other stakeholders to detect TB cases earlier and promote preventive treatment. Through all these activities and partnerships, the cdph TB program expects to meet the standards of the national tuberculosis indicators project and to continue to provide high quality TB care, prevention, and control services for the duration of this cooperative agreement and beyond.