[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 171 (Tuesday, October 24, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1412-E1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY HEALTH 
                               DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 24, 2017

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 100th 
anniversary of the Fairfax County Health Department. Through a century 
of continuous service the department has distinguished itself as a 
national leader and a model public health department working to 
protect, promote and improve the quality of life for all its residents.
  The origins of the Fairfax County Health Department can be traced 
back to April 1917, when the county launched a campaign for better 
health in the very same week that the United States would enter World 
War I. When the first public health physician and his successor were 
sent off to war, it left only one public health nurse to provide 
services for the entire county. Shortly after war's end the staff 
consisted of a full time health officer, one full time sanitation 
officer, one full time nurse and a part-time clerk, with funding 
provided by the Virginia State Health Department, the Fairfax County 
Board of Supervisors, the County Chapter of the Red Cross, the 
Tuberculosis Association, and donations from private citizens.
  In the early years, the Health Department was primarily concerned 
with the spread of infectious diseases like diphtheria, smallpox, 
tuberculosis and typhoid fever. With better sanitation, education, and 
immunization practices, many of these threats began to wane and the 
department's services began to expand to accommodate the county's 
growing population.
  With more facilities and staff, the department was able to offer 
maternal and child health clinics, home health care, speech and 
hearing, dental, and school health services. At the same time, a 
systematic program of environmental health was developed to include 
sewage disposal, protection of water supplies, fly and mosquito 
control, and general cleanliness of dwellings, tourist places and food 
establishments.
  Due to its long history of financial and leadership support for 
public health, in 1995 Fairfax County sought and was granted the 
authority to operate its own health department by

[[Page E1413]]

an act of the Virginia General Assembly. Since that change in 
legislative authority more than 20 years ago, the Fairfax County Health 
Department has become more efficient, effective, and responsive.
  Throughout its history, the Health Department has been a leader in 
the prevention and control of communicable diseases. During the polio 
epidemic of the 1950s, Fairfax County participated in the Salk vaccine 
trials and became the first county in the United States to provide 
polio vaccine to its grade school children. In 1960s, it was the first 
department in the nation to participate in a mass measles vaccination 
trial program. And in 1989, when there was an outbreak of Ebola virus 
in monkeys at a laboratory in Reston, Virginia--an event dramatized in 
Richard Preston's book ``The Hot Zone''--Fairfax County Health 
Department was once again on the front lines of an emerging disease 
threat.
  While the emphasis on communicable disease control and prevention has 
not changed, the Health Department has dedicated more of its resources 
to population-based health services that address disparities within its 
increasingly diverse community. The Health Department's Adult Day 
Health Care, Community Health Care Network, Skin Deep Tattoo Removal 
Program, HIV case management program, and Homeless Health Care program 
have been a model for other departments in Virginia and around the 
country. Research on newer and better methods of onsite sewage disposal 
have often originated in Fairfax County. The department's laboratory is 
the largest local public health laboratory in the Commonwealth, 
performing more than 200,000 scientific tests annually.
  Since the terrorist acts of September II, 2001, the Health Department 
has assumed a first responder role with significant responsibility for 
a wide range of disaster planning and response activities. In response 
to lessons learned from the anthrax crisis, the Health Department 
organized a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit, a cadre of trained 
volunteers, to augment surge capacity during public health emergencies. 
In the years since, the Health Department has activated its Incident 
Management Team and the MRC in response to natural disasters such as 
floods and hurricanes, HI1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola virus, Zika 
virus and other outbreak investigations.
  The Fairfax County Health Department has achieved and sustained a 
well-earned reputation for excellence due in part to the dedication and 
compassion of its well-trained workforce, the quality and innovation of 
its programs and services, and the commitment of its leadership to 
continuous quality improvement. That commitment was demonstrated again 
in 2016 when the department achieved national accreditation by the 
Public Health Accreditation Board.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing the 
Fairfax County Health Department for a century of protecting, promoting 
and improving the health and quality of life for all in Fairfax County. 
Their selfless efforts, made on behalf of all citizens of our community 
are truly worthy of our highest praise.

                          ____________________