CDC Fiscal Year 2016 Report on Conference Spending

65th Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference

Dates: May 2-5, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The primary mission for the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS) is to provide scientific service, expertise, skills, and tools in support of CDC’s national efforts to promote health, prevent disease, injury and disability, and prepare for emerging health threats. CSELS’s Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development (DSEPD) has a strategic priority to prepare the public health workforce for 21st Century public health challenges. DSEPD’s Epidemiology Work Force Branch (EWB) is responsible for implementing a major part of that strategic goal by annually training a class of about 80 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers who will provide service to CDC and state and local health agencies as part of their two-year training program. The EIS officer training program consists of a number of Core Activities of Learning (CALS) that officers must complete in the course of their 2 years so that they may successfully graduate from the program. The EIS Conference is a public forum for current officers to give a scientific presentation, increase their knowledge of recent investigations, and increase their skills in determining appropriateness of epidemiologic methods. The conference also provides opportunities for scientific exchange regarding the most current epidemiologic topics and highlights epidemiologic activities at CDC.
Description of Exceptional Circumstances: This annually-required conference brought first and second year Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers the opportunity to present epidemiological findings to a national audience as part of their professional development and fellowship requirement. Additionally, it presented the opportunity for scientific exchange regarding current epidemiological topics, highlighted the breadth of epidemiological activities at CDC, strengthened the EIS professional network, and provided a forum for CDC programs to recruit new EIS officers. The conference is one of the most recognized CDC fellowship conferences, with a long-standing history of national and international public health interest. This event also served the broader public health scientific community by highlighting research conducted by CDC while providing a forum for communication and collaboration.
Total Estimated Cost: $638,511
Total Attendees: 1,979
Total Feds on Travel: 1,078
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 78

2016 Epidemic Intelligence Service and Laboratory Leadership Service Summer Course

Dates: July 1-29, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Emory Conference Center, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The EIS Summer Course directly corresponds to the mission of CDC as an agency and—specifically—to the Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development (DSEPD) and the Epidemiology Workforce Branch (EWB). Annually, the EIS Summer Course provides the incoming EIS class with a training of the basic skills necessary to begin the 2-year training through service in applied epidemiology. The information provided a foundation to apply epidemiology successfully to a wide variety of public health issues during the officer’s first two years and beyond.
Total Estimated Cost: $256,284
Total Attendees: 98
Total Feds on Travel: 31
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

Leaderfest 2016 – Discovering Differences…Embracing the Possibilities

Dates: August 3-4, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: CDC Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: CDC University (CDCU) provides continuous learning and professional development opportunities to develop and sustain a capable, component workforce in support of CDC’s mission. CDCU remains committed to working with employees to provide high-quality, economical training courses and programs. Leaderfest offered a variety of impactful workshops that addressed challenges leaders and non-leaders face in their daily roles. The training focused on communication, managing conflict, interpersonal skills, leading and managing change, and resiliency.
Total Estimated Cost: $118,053
Total Attendees: 219
Total Feds on Travel: 0
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System National Meeting

Dates: October 19-23, 2015
Venue, City, State, or Country: W Hotel, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a surveillance project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments. PRAMS collects state-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. The goal of PRAMS is to improve the health of mothers and infants by reducing adverse outcomes such as low birth weight, infant mortality and morbidity, and maternal morbidity. PRAMS provides state-specific data for planning and assessing health programs and for describing maternal experiences that may contribute to maternal and infant health. The conference directly supported the mission of the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) and CDC by providing training and technical assistance to PRAMS grantees.
Total Estimated Cost: $170,142
Total Attendees: 175
Total Feds on Travel: 40
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 135

Summit on Environmental Hazards and Health Effects

Dates: January 26-29, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Georgia Tech Conference Center, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (EHHE) has three state-based grant programs: the National Asthma Control Program, the Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, and the Climate-Ready States and Cities Initiative. This meeting supported EHHE’s goals for improving collaboration among programs and partners. Additionally, it supported funding opportunity announcements in the Environmental Public Health Tracking Branch and the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch.
Total Estimated Cost: $350,000
Total Attendees: 333
Total Feds on Travel: 0
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

2015 National HIV Prevention Conference

Dates: December 6-9, 2015
Venue, City, State, or Country: Hyatt/Marriott Hotels, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The mission of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention is to prevent HIV infection and reduce the incidence of HIV-related illness and death, which is achieved in collaboration with community, state, national and international partners. Despite remarkable advances in HIV detection, prevention and treatment, HIV remains a severe and ongoing health problem in the United States. The National HIV Prevention Conference is the only U.S. national conference that allows in-person collaboration between scientists and program personnel planning and implementing HIV prevention programs. This conference provided a rigorous scientific, programmatic, and technology information exchange of HIV prevention strategies guided by the National HIV Prevention Strategy. The training provided and knowledge gained by attendance at the conference was critical to refine, improve, and strengthen our nation’s response to the HIV epidemic. The meeting helped advance CDC’s HIV prevention programs and their work to improve treatment, care, and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS, and helped build capacity and infrastructure to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and around the world.
Description of Exceptional Circumstances: Despite remarkable advances in HIV detection, prevention and treatment, HIV remains a severe and ongoing health problem in the United States. The National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC) brings together more than 3,000 individuals who are working to stop the spread of HIV in the United States. It provides an opportunity to continue refining, improving, and strengthening our nation’s urgent need to respond to the HIV epidemic.

The National HIV Prevention Conference is unique in structure in that it is the only U.S. national conference that allows for face-to-face collaboration between scientists and program personnel who plan and implement HIV prevention programs. The multi-layered speakers and participants are comprised of scientific researchers, leaders in the field of public health, federal- and state-funded community based organizations, national capacity building/technical assistance providers, state and local HIV health department staff, academia, clinicians, care and treatment providers, and grantees and staff of other federal agencies charged with decreasing HIV/AIDS. During the course of the conference these partners address new programmatic approaches, share training techniques, new technologies, and share best practices and the latest scientific findings. The 4-day comprehensive conference hosts 5 plenary sessions, 102 workshops, 58 roundtables and 208 oral poster presentations and is a platform for more than 400 speakers and presenters who participate in a rigorous scientific, programmatic, and technological information exchange. The alternative approaches to bringing these groups together in this manner—multiple smaller meetings or one-on-one consultations—are considerably less cost-effective.
Total Estimated Cost: $1,906,217
Total Attendees: 3,034
Total Feds on Travel: 511
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 33

Comprehensive High-Impact HIV Prevention Projects for Community-Based Organization, Grantee Orientation Meeting

Dates: September 20-23, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Omni Hotel, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention is the Department of Health and Human Services lead on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Conducting a grantee orientation meeting for the recently-awarded grant is a critical component of overall project monitoring and oversight provided by CDC. The meeting advanced the mission of the agency by providing grantees with a comprehensive range of information, tools, and technical resources necessary to begin development and implementation of effective HIV prevention programs, and reinforced CDC and grantee roles and responsibilities, program requirements, and program expectations. The orientation meeting is one of several components implemented as part of an ongoing strategy to engage grantees throughout the 5-year project period.
Total Estimated Cost: $248,120
Total Attendees: 376
Total Feds on Travel: 76
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

2016 National Immunization Conference

Dates: September 13-15, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: This educational activity was one of many facets of NCIRD’s on-going efforts to educate and support providers as they try to keep up with current best practices related to immunization. Immunization is one of the great success stories in public health, listed as one of the century’s greatest public health achievements. To maintain and improve on current immunization coverage levels, millions of immunizations are given annually. The number of doses distributed in the United States more than doubled in the past 20 years. In order to maintain and improve on the quality of this large and very successful immunization effort, immunization providers and program managers must know, maintain, and continuously increase their competency in these areas, which the conference supported:

Total Estimated Cost: $439,429
Total Attendees: 1,600
Total Feds on Travel: 370
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 1,230

2016 OCOO Training Forum

Dates: May 2-5, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: CDC Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: As part of OCOO’s strategic direction and to meet ongoing training requirements, OCOO hosted a training forum to deliver interactive courses that enhanced employee skills, built competencies, and fulfilled annual training requirements.
Total Estimated Cost: $127,053
Total Attendees: 1,092
Total Feds on Travel: 2
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

Public Health Associate Program 2015 Class Orientation Training

Dates: October 26-30, 2015
Venue, City, State, or Country: CDC Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: OSTLTS’s mission is to advance U.S. public health agency and system performance, capacity, agility, and resilience. The overall purpose of the 2015 Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) Orientation training was to provide associates a forum to share information about their field assignments and program requirements, and build knowledge and skills essential to achieving success in the workplace. The training fulfilled HHS and CDC University’s PHAP trainee competencies to increase their skills and abilities to accomplish the mission of OSTLTS and to assist state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments increase their capacity for public health delivery. The training provided trainees starting their two-year fellowships with the required knowledge and skills to better equip them in completing their duties on behalf of their STLT health departments, and increased their ability to seek employment in the field of public health. The PHAP trainees contributed to the agency’s mission by expanding the capacity and performance of partner STLT health departments during their fellowship.
Total Estimated Cost: $486,092
Total Attendees: 243
Total Feds on Travel: 203
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

Public Health Associate Program 2014 Graduating Class Final Spring Training

Dates: April 4-8, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: OSTLTS’s mission is to advance U.S. public health agency and system performance, capacity, agility, and resilience. Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) trainees worked at state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments throughout the United States and its territories. The training provided trainees completing their two-year fellowship with the required knowledge and skills to better equip them in completing their duties on behalf of their STLT health departments and, increased their ability to seek employment in the field of public health. The PHAP trainees contributed to the agency’s mission by expanding the capacity and performance of partner STLT health departments during their fellowship.
Total Estimated Cost: $396,495
Total Attendees: 168
Total Feds on Travel: 121
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0

Public Health Associate Program 2015 Class Mid-Assignment Training

Dates: May 16-20, 2016
Venue, City, State, or Country: Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel, Atlanta, GA
How the Conference Advanced the Mission of the Agency: OSTLTS’s mission is to advance U.S. public health agency and system performance, capacity, agility, and resilience. The training fulfilled HHS and CDC University’s PHAP trainee competencies to increase their skills and abilities to accomplish the mission of OSTLTS and to assist state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) health departments increase their capacity for public health delivery. The PHAP associates contributed to the agency’s mission by expanding the capacity and performance of partner STLT health departments during their fellowship and in their future employment.
Description of Exceptional Circumstances: The Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) fulfills HHS and CDC University’s competencies to increase associates’ and fellows’ skills and abilities to accomplish the mission of OSTLTS and to assist state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments to increase their capacity for public health delivery. Associates are spread throughout the country and travel to training in Atlanta to maintain standards for entry level and continuing training and education for all associates with the objective of thoroughly preparing them for careers in public health. Additionally, holding a single event over five days precluded the need for multiple, costly visits to the field, to provide that training individually, thus saving the government money. The training event utilized staff from across CDC and includes the potential for associates to meet with CDC staff in their assignment fields.
Total Estimated Cost: $537,595
Total Attendees: 274
Total Feds on Travel: 270
Total Non-Feds on Travel: 0