Tuesday’s Travis County Commissioners Court meeting was virtually a preview of a news conference scheduled for today regarding the region’s response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus. During a presentation to the five-member board, Dr. Mark Escott, interim medical director and health authority for Austin Public Health, said local […]
Austin Public Health
The regional health authority tasked with protecting Travis County residents from infectious disease and other environmental threats.
Posted inPublic Health
Austinites are not at higher risk of getting coronavirus after first confirmed case in Texas
Austin health officials say the threat of coronavirus has not gotten any worse now that the first case has been confirmed in Texas. Dr. Mark Escott, the interim medical director of Austin Public Health, said there is “virtually a zero-percent chance” of contracting the virus, now known as COVID-19, in Austin. “That’s because the individual […]
Posted inPublic Health
For the first time since 1999, someone in Travis County has rubella
Public health officials on Thursday morning confirmed the first case of rubella in Travis County since 1999. The confirmation comes roughly a month after the first diagnosis of measles, which was last seen in the Austin area in 1999, too. Austin Public Health said in an announcement that the virus, which is less contagious than […]
Posted inPublic Health
Audit: Social services contract rules need update
The city auditor’s team studying the city’s social services contracting process found that even though Austin spends millions of dollars on social services contracts, the city “does not have an explicit definition of ‘social services’ and lacks a formal social service procurement policy.” Members of the team reported their findings to the Council Audit & […]
Posted inCity Hall
Trying to get apartment, employee committed fraud
An Austin Public Health employee misused her city computer, fax machines and the department’s patient records in an attempt to rent an apartment, according to an investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. The report states that Johnetta Lindsay, who worked as a patient representative with Austin Public Health, created fake job offer […]
Posted inAustin
City budget boosts spending for homelessness services
The new city manager and City Council agree: The city needs more money to address the homelessness situation. The proposed Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget submitted by City Manager Spencer Cronk includes $3.1 million in new spending on homelessness-related services. That’s on top of the roughly $25 million of spending on such services that will continue […]
Posted inCity Hall
Health department faulted in foundation audit
Members of the city auditor’s staff have found that Austin Public Health’s monitoring process for contracts with the African-American Youth Harvest Foundation has been ineffective and that the department cannot verify that the foundation has fulfilled the intended purpose of one of its contracts with the city. The city currently has two contracts with the […]
Posted inCity Hall
City contemplates restaurant inspection changes
Austin may change how it inspects restaurants in the city, and City Council members are taking a look at how the change could impact the bottom line for some local businesses. Don Hastings, who is the assistant director of the Environmental Health Services Division of Austin Public Health, explained the changes to Council’s Health and […]