North Central Health District

NCHD Celebrates National DIS Recognition Day

Posted October 6, 2017 by Michael Hokanson

Annual Recognition Day Honors this Unique Public Health Workforce

On Friday, Oct. 6, NCHD, along with health departments across the county, honors the fifth annual National Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) Recognition Day. Celebrated each year on the first Friday of October, National DIS Recognition Day honors the DIS workforce that is the backbone of all STD and HIV health department programs.

DIS play an imperative role in intervening to halt the transmission of STDs, HIV and other communicable diseases in the communities they serve. They track disease spread, reach varied populations and link patients STD testing, treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV care. The DIS graphic, Sexually Transmitted Disease Contract Tracing, helps explain the critical work of DIS in STD prevention.

DIS complete an extensive training course sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which provides a strong foundation for field investigation techniques. These investigation skills are essential to containing disease outbreaks beyond STDS, like H1N1, influenza, E. coli and Ebola.

This annual day of recognition will be celebrated throughout the country. For more information about DIS and how other STD programs have honored DIS in past years, visit the DIS Recognition Page of the National Coalition of STD Directors.

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