MCH Data Capacity

MCH Epidemiology Workforce

The Idaho Title V Program has an established connection with the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention (BCDP) within the Division of Public Health. Kathryn Turner, Ph.D., Deputy State Epidemiologist, serves as the BCDP Bureau Chief. This bureau houses the Surveillance and Prevention Program, the Epidemiology Program and the Immunization Program which all work with MCH-related data. While only the Surveillance Program receives Title V funding, all programs work closely together under the direction of Dr. Turner. Title V funding supports state staff time for disease surveillance that impacts MCH populations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some surveillance staff time was shifted to help with the response. However, Title V continued to fund two partial positions (0.2 FTE total) essential for MCH surveillance.

Martijn van Beek is the Section Manager overseeing BCDP surveillance projects, including reportable disease surveillance, syndromic surveillance, and supervising surveillance staff. Martijn is responsible for coordinating with Dr. Turner, who also serves as the Bureau Informatics Director, to enhance and maintain Idaho’s reportable disease surveillance system. Martijn has a background in data analysis and has held several positions during his 6+ years at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, including research analyst, evaluation specialist, and drug overdose prevention program manager. Martijn’s position is funded through multiple federal grants and state funds. A total of 0.05 FTE of his position is funded through the Title V program.

CJ Ayotte is the BCDP Epidemiology Surveillance Specialist responsible for administering the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) Base System and the Idaho Outbreak Management System. She also manages reportable disease data quality, system training, and provides technical assistance to NEDSS Base System users. To ensure provision of reportable disease case investigation data to the state and ensure data quality in the NEDSS Base System, CJ serves as the contract monitor between BCDP and the public health districts. CJ’s position is funded through multiple federal grants and state funds. A total of 0.15 FTE of her position is funded through the Title V program. CJ has been with the BCDP since 2010 and worked with MCH records as a Technical Records Specialist and Epidemiology Surveillance Specialist throughout her career. CJ is currently attending Boise State University and pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. She is also studying to obtain the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification.

The Surveillance Program is funded through a variety of federal funding sources, including CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity grant. This grant includes the data modernization and health information systems components which focus on enhancing surveillance capacity and workforce development. In coordination with federal, state, and local partners the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention ensures adequate capacity related to the management and analysis of MCH data.

The Idaho MCH Program also utilizes the expertise of individuals in the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS). Edward (Ward) Ballard began working with health-related data as an analyst for Clearwater Research, Inc., a company that previously performed data collection for the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). For six years he performed data quality checks on collected survey data and wrote and modified Computer Aided Telephony Interviewing scripts for data collection and analysis of studies like BRFSS. Ward joined the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare as a Research Analyst, Senior in 2005 to analyze and prepare reports based on Idaho BRFSS data. In 2007, Ward became the MCH analyst working with all Title V funded programs in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. He has attended two HRSA sponsored training sessions for MCH Epidemiology, the BRFSS annual meeting training sessions on Logistic and Mixed model analysis with complex survey data, and the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application User Meeting for Data Analysts. Ward’s initial analysis and statistics training came as part of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics with additional course work in non-parametric and robust statistics.

Andy Bourne has worked as the Division of Public Health Maternal and Child Health Analytics Manager and Pregnancy Risk Assessment Tracking System (PRATS) Project Director within the BVRHS since July 2013. Andy administers the PRATS survey, which is a survey of mothers and babies in Idaho. The survey asks moms questions about their experience before, during, and after pregnancy and includes questions in several categories from personal habits to prenatal and well-baby care to physical and mental health. He also manages the MCH Analytics Unit, which includes the Child Fatality Review Team Data Analyst and the MCH Data Analyst. A Boise, Idaho native, Andy received a Master of Public Administration degree from Boise State University in 2009, during which he gained experience in budget and policy analysis with state-run programs and agencies. He also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2006. Andy has been with the BVRHS since October 2010, including three years of work as a research analyst prior to his work in PRATS.