921 East Third Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403
(423)209-8190 (423)209-8191 fax
Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
After Hours Emergency Contact
(423)209-8010
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Margaret Zylstra, BSN, Epidemiology Manager
MargaretZ@HamiltonTN.gov
Bev Fulbright, RN, Epidemiology Nurse
BevF@HamiltonTN.gov
Sarah Stuart Sloan, MPH, Epidemiologist
SarahS@HamiltonTN.gov
Sue Mason, RN, Epidemiology Nurse
SueM@HamiltonTN.gov
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The purpose of the Epidemiology (Epi) Department is to reduce the occurrence and prevent the spread of disease in Hamilton County. This is accomplished through many activities including community education, data gathering and analysis, disease investigations, surveillance of disease syndromes, and reporting disease information to the:
Tennessee Dept of Health's Communicable and Environmental Disease Services.
Hospitals, laboratories, physician offices, and clinics are required by Tennessee state law to report
notifiable diseases to the health department. Click here to access the TN Reportable Disease List.
Click here for the Report Form.
Reports of a communicable disease can be mailed, faxed, or called into the Epi Department. Diseases that require immediate telephone reporting can be called to the above number at any time. To reach staff on-call after hours, dial (423)209-8010.
Reports of tuberculosis should be called in to (423)209-8266.
When a report of a notifiable disease is received by the health department, a nurse in the Epi Department interviews the patient or family member to determine possible causes and risk factors associated with the disease. The goal of gathering this data and doing follow-up investigations on certain diseases is to prevent disease spread in the community.
The monitoring of data from a variety of other sources will assist the health department in the rapid detection of a potential disease outbreak or health threat. |