Syndromic Surveillance & Meaningful Use

The National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) promotes and advances the development of a syndromic surveillance (SyS) system for the timely exchange of syndromic surveillance data. SyS data is used to improve situational awareness and enhance responsiveness to hazardous events and disease outbreaks to protect community’s health, safety and security.

Mandated in the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, the NSSP was launched in 2003 to establish an integrated national public health surveillance system for early detection and rapid assessment of potential bioterrorism-related illness. NSSP includes collaboration among local, state and federal public health partners (including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); other federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; hospitals and health professionals; and other key stakeholders.

In 2016, the Electronic Syndromic System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE), developed by Johns Hopkins University (JHU), became the NSSP's primary syndromic surveillance tool. NSSP's version of ESSENCE allows epidemiologists to collaborate with others across geopolitical boundaries to share data which provides a broader surveillance view.

Key values of the NSSP:

  • Enhancing health monitoring infrastructure and workforce capacity at the state, local and territorial levels
  • Expanding the utility of NSSP data to use in all-hazards incidents and to contribute information for public health situational awareness, routine public health practice and improved health outcomes
  • Improving the ability to detect emergency health-related threats by supporting the enhancement of systems to signal alerts for potential problems and improving the ability to understand the severity of health issues
  • Increasing local and state jurisdictions participation in NSSP

Colorado Syndromic Surveillance Partnership Enhances Public Health Response

In the summer of 2016, Jefferson County Public Health and Boulder County Public Health [external link] joined the NSSP effort started by Tri-County Health Department and Denver Public Health (DPH) [external link]. TCHD and DPH co-jointly began participating in the NSSP in 2013, collecting the timely syndromic surveillance data for situational awareness and enhanced response to hazardous events and disease outbreaks. The syndromic surveillance partnership in the NSSP Colorado North Central Region (NSSP CO-NCR) includes public health agencies and facilities from Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson Counties.

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Colorado North Central Region (CO-NCR) Hospitals Contributing data for Syndromic Surveillance, 2017

Adams County
Arapahoe County
Platte Valley Medical Center
Swedish Medical Center
North Suburban Medical Center
The Medical Center of Aurora
University of Colorado Hospital
Littleton Parent Hospital
St. Anthony North Parent Hospital
SCL Health Community Hospital - Aurora
St. Anthony Neighborhood Health Center Parent Hospital
 
 
 
Boulder County
Denver County
Avista Parent Hospital
Rose Medical Center
Good Samaritan Medical Center
Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center
Longmont United Parent Hospital
Porter Parent Hospital
Boulder Community Hospital
Denver Health and Hospital Authority
 
Saint Joseph Hospital
 
SCL Health Community Hospital - Northglenn
 
 
Douglas County
Jefferson County
Parker Parent Hospital
St. Anthony Parent Hospital
Sky Ridge Medical Center
Lutheran Medical Center
Castle Rock Parent Hospital
SCL Health Community Hospital - South West