By: Ian Smith
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BRENHAM, Texas--Last year, Texas Senate Bill 1574 amended the state's Health and Safety Code and now requires all entities that use emergency medical personnel, peace officers, jailers and even firefighters to designate an "infection control office."
The Washington County Commissioners Court plans to appoint a doctor in Brenham on Tuesday.
"We have a local health authority, once again, required by the state, who in times of emergency, takes control and can call quarantines and a number of other things that would be required in that, who's really already doing this," said County Judge John Brieden.
That person is Dr. William Lesch, the Local Health Authority for Washington County.
"The effort here is to try to get infectious disease under better control, to have more plans, to have a little more unity in county government," said Lesch.
Lesch says if an outbreak were to occur, he would be in charge of taking control in the county and working with other officials.
Also per state law, each entity must designate an alternate infection officer as a backup.
Larger cities and counties, as well as many hospitals and universities, may already have infection control authorities on standby.
