TB Notes Newsletter
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No. 4, 2009
TB EDUCATION AND TRAINING NETWORK UPDATES
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TB ETN Member Highlight
Ayesha Bashir, MD, MPH, is a Special Project Epidemiologist and Deputy TB Control Officer for the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). She received her MD degree from Fatima Jinnah Medical School in Pakistan and her MPH degree from Tulane School of Public Health in Louisiana.
Ayesha’s job responsibilities are two-fold. She provides epidemiology and surveillance support to ADHS’ TB special project areas and also serves as the Deputy TB Control Officer for Arizona. Her responsibilities include working to control TB in populations such as correctional facility inmates and staff, homeless persons, Native Americans, and persons along the U.S./Mexico border. As the correctional facility liaison, Ayesha is responsible for maintaining an effective interface between public health agencies and the various entities involved with correctional inmates. She provides guidance and technical assistance on public health issues that impact these populations, and is also responsible for assessing needs, fostering and coordinating collaborative efforts, and conducting epidemiology studies.
In addition, Ayesha develops surveillance reports to assess and monitor performance in each of the special projects, and is responsible for data collection, management, and quality assurance activities; develops epidemiology and data reports that summarize and characterize high-risk groups; develops surveillance reports customized to local health departments; helps prepare the annual progress report and the cooperative agreement to CDC; assists in program evaluation activities and development of strategic plans; works on the genotyping database; and assists on other program activities as needed.
Ayesha first learned about TB ETN from a colleague. She joined to become more involved in TB education and to meet other people involved in TB. She is also a member of the Membership Development Workgroup because of her interest in working with other people on TB educational needs. Ayesha hopes that TB ETN will continue to provide access to services and resources others can use for TB education and training.
A program that Ayesha has worked on is the Arizona-Mexico “Meet and Greet” program; Ayesha revised the protocol for the program. This is an informal agreement between the public health departments in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, whereby health officials in Sonora agree to meet deported TB patients at the border and assume responsibility for treatment; the goal is to ensure continuity of care for these deported TB patients. In addition, Ayesha works part-time as a physician at an urgent care clinic in the community.
If you’d like to join Ayesha as a TB ETN member and take advantage of all TB ETN has to offer, please send an e-mail requesting a registration form to tbetn@cdc.gov. You can also send a request by fax to 404-639-8960 or by mail to TB ETN, CEBSB, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, CDC, 1600 Clifton Rd., N.E., MS E10, Atlanta, Georgia 30333 or, if you would like additional information about the TB Education and Training Network.
—Reported by Regina Bess
Div of TB Elimination
Cultural Competency Workgroup Update
Members of the TB Education and Training Network (TB ETN) Cultural Competency Workgroup had the pleasure of seeing each other at the 9th Annual TB ETN Conference held in July 2009 in Atlanta. The workgroup held a business meeting followed by dinner for additional networking time.
During the conference, a Cultural Competency Expert Roundtable was held during a lunch session. The roundtable, led by workgroup members, was attended by a dozen people; a variety of interesting topics and challenges were discussed.
Martha Alexander, MHS, from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of TB Control, and Beth Kingdon, MPH, from the Minnesota Department of Health, TB Prevention and Control Program, will continue as workgroup co-chairs for the 2009–2010 term.
—Submitted by Beth Kingdon, MPH
TB Education Coordinator/Planner
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE)
1600 Clifton Rd., NE
MS E10
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348 - New Hours of Operation
8am-8pm ET/Monday-Friday
Closed Holidays - cdcinfo@cdc.gov
