Florida taps FAMU experts to help fight COVID-19

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has tapped into the expertise of the FAMU Institute of Public Health, housed in the FAMU College of Pharmacy, to assist the state in its fight against the spread of COVID-19, the Coronavirus pandemic.

DOH is relying on a team of four FAMU public health professors and four students who have been assigned to Tallahassee and South Florida to help with health messaging and data analysis. The FAMU team will also be working with assisted living facilities and skilled nursing centers and participating in triaging calls following a rubric and, if necessary, contacting the county epidemiologists for follow-up with the county health department and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) personnel. 

The FAMU Team members will be working 12-hour shifts helping Florida officials understand and fight the spread of the panademic. Team members will not be interacting directly with patients.  

“I am so proud of this team,” said C. Perry Brown, DrPH., team leader and epidemiologist in the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Institute of Public Health. “We are trained and prepared for this moment – this time.”  

About a week ago, the Florida Department of Health reached out to public health epidemiology programs and schools of public health from across the state to provide support to the state in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Shamarial Roberson, DrPH., Deputy Secretary at the Florida Department of Health is a graduate of the FAMU Institute of Public Health.  

The FAMU team includes biostatisticians, environmental epidemiologist (trained in disaster preparedness, and health educators. Two team members – Stephanie Colter and Justin Williams – are doctoral epidemiology students. Kamaria Jacobs and Reginald Turner are pursuing master’s degrees in public health focusing on epidemiology and environmental epidemiology, respectively.

The Coronavirus is one of the largest public health emergencies to face the nation.