Supporting Community Health Improvement

Community Engagement Course Shares Expertise

A 4-week Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) focusing on community engagement is available on Coursera. The MOOC was created by Dr. Green, and includes video presentations by other Center and UR faculty and staff. This course is designed to be self-paced and is entirely online.

Latest Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Available for 2022-2024

The CCHP plays an active role in local community health policy. Dr. Green and Community Health Policy Coordinator, Daniel Green, MPH, convene and coordinate a workgroup of diverse partners called the Community Health Improvement Workgroup (CHIW) who help identify and address our community’s most pressing health issues. The CHIW is comprised of representatives from 4 hospitals in Monroe County, the Monroe County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) and several local community and government groups. The CHIW reviews data and community concerns and needs, and at least every 3 years, develops a plan to address priority areas with members committing to implementing this plan.

The 2022–2024 Monroe County CHIP and the 2022-2024 Monroe County Community Health Needs Assessment are now available.

CHIW Establishes Mini-Grant

The mini-grant funds small-scale (up to $10,000) local, city-wide or county-wide ongoing or new initiatives that are short-term (one year in duration maximum) and address the goals of the 2022-2024 Monroe County CHIP. The first-round grantees are the Wellness Associates of Greater Rochester (WAGR) and Metro Council for Teen Potential (MCTP). WAGR will promote mental health and wellbeing through training key stakeholders in Mental Health First Aid and to increase the accessibility of this program by training a Spanish-speaking instructor. MCTP will address disparities in maternal and child health through relaunching a media campaign that will support the reproductive justice and autonomy of young women and prevent unintended pregnancy in the City of Rochester.

Tracking and Preventing Communicable Diseases

COVID-19 Among Healthcare Personnel

The EIP team is working with the CDC on gathering information from health care personnel who have been tested for COVID-19 to evaluate how well COVID-19 vaccines prevent laboratory-confirmed, symptomatic COVID-19 in health care workers. Local results were presented at IDWeek 2022, highlighting that vaccine effectiveness was lower when the Omicron variant was circulating and that effectiveness waned as time since vaccination increased. This work is ongoing, with plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine booster.

As of December 10, 2022, there were 4,437 RSV cases and 454 hospitalizations, and 7,398 flu cases and 285 hospitalizations in Monroe County. Both RSV and flu had four deaths confirmed for each disease. RSV and Flu Cases Surge after COVID Pandemic

The fall/winter season presented unprecedented cases of RSV locally and throughout the country. Flu cases increased throughout the winter. Flu data summaries continued to be provided to the MCDPH and the broader clinical community on a weekly basis; RSV was added to the summary in November 2022 due to the increase in hospitalizations and cases.

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the JYNNEOS Smallpox Vaccine Against Mpox Was Added to the EIP Work

Participants will be recruited from regions outside the NYC metropolitan area in collaboration with the NYSDOH. The CCHP is partnering with Trillium Health and the Infectious Disease Clinic at Strong Memorial Hospital for this project.

Center for Community Health & Prevention 46 Prince Street, Rochester, NY 14607 Phone: (585) 602-0801 Fax: (585) 442-3372 urmc.rochester.edu/community-health