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Health Alert Network Goes Live in Texas

Sixty-four local health departments are already connected to the alert network.

AUSTIN, Texas --Last Friday, the state activated the Health Alert Network, a secure Internet connection that links the state's health resources and provides information and warnings about bio terrorism and other health issues.

Officials said the new system will help Texas health-care authorities react to any situation by providing the state's health-care community with enhanced communications. An emergency room in one city that treats a patient with unusual symptoms can immediately contact local or state public health authorities that have the ability to identify similar reported cases and issue an alert.

Training will be offered in a variety of formats through the Health Alert Network, and the system will include an archive of videos and information. The network also will include a database of key health personnel in the state, instant messaging capabilities, a document repository and additional tools to help health officials gather and analyze disease surveillance data quickly.

The initial rollout of the Health Alert Network will connect 64 local health departments to the service, officials said. Each of these departments already has received the computer components and scanners necessary to share information over the network, and 15 of the sites have received video-conferencing equipment.

An additional 80 health departments will join the network by Oct. 1, officials said.

The Health Alert Network is the result of a longtime collaboration between the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Association of Local Health Officials.

The state used several sources of funding to implement the Health Alert Network, officials said, including part of a $51.4 million award for public health preparedness and bio terrorism response from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a grant from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board; and authorizing the release of additional funds to the Texas Department of Health.

Office of Gov. Rick Perry