Heroes of the Week

Each week we will highlight county employees for heroism, acts of kindness and exceptional service to the community.

The County Salutes a Winning Team!

The Alameda County Public Health Department’s Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (DCDCP) is among the longest serving Bay Area front-line teams working on the pandemic. Comprised of clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, public health investigators, the Health Officer, and the Public Health Lab, this group of heroes has led the COVID-19 response for Alameda County since January 22, 2020.

The DCDCP Team is a division within the Health Department, where its purview includes all aspects of infectious disease and public health preparedness and response activities. Their day to day work includes preventing and controlling the spread of more than 80 infectious diseases that are reportable by law to the State, including TB, HIV and STDs. They also oversee the County’s immunization program.

The team springs into emergency action when there are outbreaks. The team was monitoring the Wuhan outbreak in December and activated its emergency response on January 22. Led by Health Officer, Dr. Erica Pan and DCDCP Director, Dr. Nicholas Moss, this team forms the foundation of HCSA’s Department Operations Center, which now includes nearly 300 people across the agency.

DCDCP is at the core of the County’s COVID-19 containment and mitigation strategy, which includes testing, investigating all cases and close contacts of cases, providing clinical and community guidance, and ensuring that all Alameda County residents have the resources they need to safely isolate and quarantine. Working around the clock, the team’s scope has expanded to include direct support for long-term care facilities, Santa Rita Jail, homeless encampments, and management of medical volunteers.

Thank you, DCDCP for leading the way in saving thousands of lives!