Public Health Workers to Assess Health Needs Near Site of Hidden Pines Fire

News Release
Nov. 5, 2015

About 30 public health workers will fan out across parts of Bastrop County Friday and Saturday to learn about the community’s needs following last month’s Hidden Pines fire. Bastrop County has asked the Texas Department of State Health Services to conduct a Community Assessment of Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER, to find out more about how residents have been affected and how to help them recover from the fire.

“I encourage folks to take a few minutes for these interviews,” said Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape, “so we’ll know how and where to focus our recovery efforts. The more people participate, the better we’ll be able to get residents the help they need.”

Surveyors will be going door-to-door Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and plan to interview people in about 200 different households about their physical and mental health needs. Staff and volunteers from DSHS, Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management, Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, Texas A&M School of Public Health, and Williamson County and Cities Health District will be conducting the survey. They’ll work in two-person teams and wear vests identifying them as public health employees. The survey area, north of Smithville and east of Bastrop State Park, is shaded in yellow on the map at www.dshs.state.tx.us/sites/default/files/news/releases/HiddenPines-map.pdf.

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(News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS Press Officer, 512-776-7753)

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