Dr. Germaine “Gerry” Jacquette
Dr. Germaine (Gerry) Jacquette is a volunteer with ACTION partner RESULTS Educaitonal Fund (USA). Her initial interest in TB was forged at Harlem Hospital in the 1980s, when the difficulties in diagnosing TB in HIV/AIDS patients were just being recognized.
On the local level, Gerry currently serves as Co-Chair of the Coalition for a TB-Free NYC, which is a group of persons representing official agencies, NGOs and community-based organizations, who all have an interest in TB elimination and serve populations where TB may be an issue. Some of the agencies and organizations represented are RESULTS, the American Lung Association, Treatment Action Group (HIV agency), Center for Immigrant Health (at NYU), Hispanic AIDS Forum, Korean Community Services, NY City & State Departments of Health, Regional TB Center in Harlem, Homeless Services, African Services Committee and Bellevue Hospital DOT Program.
The Coalition has educated several local members of Congress on the TB bills, and has presented two TB Community Forums (in 2007 and 2008). This year's was on March 24, World TB Day, and was attended by persons from community agencies as well as the members of the press, which resulted in great media coverage.
The Coalition's next planned action is to send representation to the Working Group on a TB Cluster in Harlem and the Bronx, in which extensive transmission appears to be taking place. The hope is to pull in some of the community activists who attended the Forum and who might have insights that could provide clues for the Department of Health to use in their outreach.
During Gerry's 15 of years work on tuberculosis control in health departments in and around New York City, she developed a special interest in TB among Andean Ecuadorians, both in the U.S. and their home country. Through visits to the Ecuadorian highlands, contact with health professionals, and the insights of an anthropologist, the special challenge of TB among indigenous Cañaris (a group which experiences severe discrimination) emerged. "The challenge for us in the U.S.," Gerry recalls, "was to create welcoming environments for these indigenous immigrants so that their TB could be diagnosed early before major complications occur."
In Rockland County, with the help of Kichwa speakers, Gerry and her colleagues conducted special outreach to current and potential TB patients. They were then able to share their understanding of this group of patients with other providers in the Northeast who treat similar new arrivals, such as staff in Milford, Mass., and several communities in New Jersey.
See all TB Champions
