SETC Executive Committee Update  | November 2019
Hi all!

Greetings from the executive committee of the SETC. We know it’s been a little quiet on the official SETC front for the last few months, which is perhaps not a surprise considering how much of our membership is intimately involved in preparation and submission of the CO-AG.

Since we last met, in addition to our regular surveillance activities we or our workgroups have been approached to participate in:
  • Creating a surveillance system for TB drug adverse events
  • Planning and co-hosting the annual TB genotyping meeting in NYC
  • Position papers on TB infection surveillance infrastructure
  • Preparing for the impact of RVCT 2020
  • Providing surveillance perspective to various surveys propagated by NTCA
  • And providing support to TB-Coag applications and the new community of practice for program managers.

Yet, there is always more that we can and should be doing. To that end the Executive Committee has decided that one of our goals this term will be improving communication. This means more regular and routine official communications from us to you and the building of a community between our members that can share ideas and best practices, form professional bonds, and allow new voices to be heard and registered in important surveillance questions and policy issues going forward. This newsletter is a first step. Below you will find a little more about us, your elected officers. You will also find some new communications tools to get us started down the road to community. Finally, we’ve shared a word from one of our partners, some calls to action, and a simple survey to help us get to know each other a little better in a very epi way. 

The bottom line is that we would love to hear from you, and hear what we can do for you, whether that’s by talking with one of us directly, connecting to a new communication tool, or responding to a call to action.

Looking forward to chatting with you all soon.
 
Best,
Andy Tibbs, President
Jason Cummins, Immediate Past-President
Shona Smith, President-Elect
Evan Timme, Secretary
MEET THE SETC LEADERSHIP
Andrew Tibbs – President
 
Andy is the lead surveillance epidemiologist for the Massachusetts TB and refugee health programs and chairs the NTCA LTBI Surveillance Workgroup
 
Shona R. Smith – President Elect

Shona served in Peace Corps Nicaragua, earned her MPH from the Rollins School of Public Health in 2015, and has been the Michigan TB Epidemiologist since that time

Jason Cummins – Immediate Past President
 
Jason currently serves as the Program Manager and Senior Epidemiologist for the Tennessee TB Elimination Program and as a medium incidence TB program representative on the NTCA Board
 
Evan Timme – Secretary 

Evan is a surveillance epidemiologist for the Arizona Tuberculosis Control Program and enjoys the intersection of complex infectious disease and program coding 

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY ON SIMPLELISTS
We are moving forward with implementation of a communications tool used by some of our fellow sections within NTCA. The tool is called SimpleLists and that’s exactly what it is, a simple mailing list. Our hope is that by encouraging SETC members (and friends) to join the mailing list we will be able to bolster our community and facilitate communication between members relating to surveillance and epi topics. 

New to TB surveillance and have a question? Curious about how another jurisdiction like yours handles a topic? Find a bug in your surveillance system and want to check it out? Notice a trend in your data and want to see if it’s happening elsewhere also? Need to know how to make a table or graphic look awesome? Ask the list for help and advice.

Look for an email soon with instructions on how to use the list!

TAKE THE SETC POLL: RVCT 2020 IS COMING
As programs plan for the RVCT 2020 changes, we wanted to gauge and see how/where programs are with the upcoming changes. Below are two quick questions to get a feel for your system type and your progress towards the 2020 updates.
My surveillance system for TB is?
Maven
NEDDS
In-house built
Other type
How ready is my group for the RVCT 2020 surveillance system and messaging updates?
Totally, ready right now
Confident, working with stakeholders
Learning about the process, but a little unsure
We need more guidance, and maybe technical assistance
We are a bit lost, please send help
SHARE YOUR IDEAS & JOIN OUR WORK
Conference Volunteers and Topics Needed!
 
The 2020 National TB Conference is quickly approaching, and we need help planning our SETC business meeting. If you’re interested in lending your brain power, please reach out to Shona Smith for more information.
 
Highlight a Member
 
Do you know someone doing amazing surveillance work? Recently published or otherwise recognized? We would love to highlight them here. Submit any nominations to Andy Tibbs and feel free to nominate yourself.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
CUNY New York City and Webinar: 
2020 Tuberculosis Genotyping Update Meeting
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
9:00am - 3:00pm Eastern Time
 
Description:
Please save the date for the 2020 Tuberculosis Genotyping Update Meeting, co-sponsored by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Rutgers Global TB Institute, and the SETC.

The meeting will be held at the City University of New York (CUNY) Law School in New York City. Those who cannot attend in person can join online.

We are looking for local applications of genotyping results. If you/your program would like to share successes or challenges, please reach out to Jeanne Sullivan Meissner .

FROM OUR PARTNERS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Surveillance for Tuberculosis Elimination Management System (STEMS) is a free web-based application by CDC to help local TB programs manage patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and tuberculosis (TB) disease. Real-time STEMS data can track appointments, monitor treatment completion, and collect surveillance information. STEMS features include a contact investigation module, site-specific reports for local staff use, and data downloads for local analysis. If your health jurisdiction is interested in STEMS, please contact STEMS@cdc.gov for information about how to access the application.

See the STEMS website for more information: https://www.cdc.gov/tb/education/stems.htm
National TB Controllers Association

The 2020 National TB Conference is in Minneapolis, Minnesota May 26 – May 29 . The planning committees are developing diverse, engaging sessions which will appeal to public and private health care professionals. Registration should open in late December/early January and a call for abstracts will be released later this month!

NTCA will launch the 2020 membership campaign soon . If you are currently a member, we hope you will renew. If you are not currently a member but have benefited from your association with the SETC section of NTCA, we hope you will consider joining this TB community. Both individual and institutional memberships are available. Reach out to ntca@tbcontrollers.org to discuss the best option for you!