“I wanted to get out in the community and learn new things; I knew I’d get that challenge as state epidemiologist.”
ally beneficial. We all can bring data and information to the table and determine together how to serve the needs of the community better.
Texas Medicine: How does the state epidemiologist collaborate with local epidemiologists?
Dr. Erlinger: Texas’ local health depart- ments have a highly skilled workforce and do a great job of advancing public health. The state’s collaboration with epidemiologists can occur at all levels, and sometimes it’s very informal. We’re partners on the same team — us versus disease.
the University of Chicago. After residen- cy, Dr. Erlinger completed a three-year general internal medicine fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and earned a mas- ter’s degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At Johns Hopkins, he conducted research in various areas of chronic dis- ease epidemiology and clinical research, including cardiovascular disease, nutri- tion, and obesity. Dr. Erlinger remained on the Johns Hopkins faculty for five years before re- turning to Texas in 2005 to become di- rector of clinical research development for The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Austin campus. From 2007 to 2010, Dr. Erlinger was
director of hospital epidemiology and in- fection control and the director of mea- surements, evaluation, and clinical re- search for the Seton Family of Hospitals. In August 2010, Dr. Erlinger joined
DSHS.
Additionally, he attends Texas Pub- lic Health Coalition meetings to update members on disease trends in the state. The Texas Medical Association is a char- ter member of the coalition, created in 2006 to unite groups interested in ad- vancing core public health principles at the state and community levels.
50 TEXAS MEDICINE March 2012
Texas Medicine: What attracted you to the position of state epidemiologist?
Dr. Erlinger: My father and brother were career military, and my sister worked for the state as an attorney. I hadn’t yet followed in my family’s foot- steps in public service, so the position of state epidemiologist appealed to me. Plus, I wanted to get out in the commu- nity and learn new things; I knew I’d get that challenge as state epidemiologist.
Texas Medicine: What do you hope to accomplish in your role at DSHS?
Dr. Erlinger: Infection control and out- break investigation are important parts of epidemiology. It’s also the understand- ing of the disease process in a popula- tion and the monitoring of health care quality. One broad goal I have is to determine how we can continue to advance in core areas. We need to evaluate how new technologies and analytic tools emerg- ing in public health affect work flow and patient outcomes. They can help us monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of disease interventions, but they also re- quire us to coordinate with a broad spec- trum of stakeholders, communities, and agencies. These collaborations are mutu-
One of our roles is to support local epidemiologists. Our regional offices meet epidemiological needs in areas that lack a local health department. During disease outbreaks or investiga- tions, for example, the local health de- partments may work with the regional public health offices and then involve DSHS and even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) if neces- sary. DSHS can assist local health depart- ments and can help facilitate communi- cation across agencies and with CDC. DSHS is using funding from the CDC’s National Public Health Improvement Initiative to help implement quality im- provement principles into the practice of public health. Last year, DSHS received a $500,000 Strengthening Public Health Infrastructure for Improved Health Out- comes grant under the national initia- tive. The Houston Department of Health and Human Services, the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Ser- vices, and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District received about $800,000 in total grant money. The grant funding provides a forum
for DSHS to work with local health de- partments to advance the delivery and impact of public health services by im- proving how we track the performance of programs. We’re also joining forces to identify and foster adoption of public health best practices and to ensure seamless and coordinated services for Texas residents across communities.
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