June 2, 2009 By Wayne Hanson
While the Swine Flu has been largely ignored recently by news media, the Virginia Department of Health announced today the state's first death in Virginia associated with the new influenza A (H1N1) virus. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) also said in a release that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 17 deaths in the nation caused by the new virus. There have been 115 deaths in laboratory-confirmed H1N1 cases worldwide.
However, the Virginia patient had preexisting medical conditions that increased the risk of complications, said VDH. And also, to put the death in perspective, each year, seasonal flu -- not of the new H1N1 variety -- ordinarily results in about 36,000 deaths nationwide and approximately 1,000 die in Virginia from influenza and pneumonia.
Symptoms of influenza include fever, cough, sore throat, headache, body aches, chills or fatigue. People who experience these symptoms are asked to call their health care provider or local health department to discuss the possible need for treatment.
This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.
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Digital Communities (DC) is e.Republic‘s local government program. The particular strength of DC is its focus on encouraging collaboration and creating productive relationships between and among cities, counties, regions and select private sector companies uniquely positioned to help improve the delivery of public services.
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