Fairfax County Research Articles

Public Health Youth Ambassador Program: Educating and Empowering the Next Generation of Public Health Leaders to Build Thriving Communities

Summary: Through a collaboration among Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD), Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), George Mason University College of Public Health, federally qualified health centers, hospital systems, non-profits, and other agencies, this initiative targets underserved high school students as a way to increase diversity among community health professionals, build generational health, and provide participants with tools to enhance their post-secondary educational and career opportunities.

Evaluation of maintenance efficiency for multiple green infrastructure designs based on water quality performance and economic costs

Green infrastructure (GI) systems have been employed as an environmentally sustainable alternative to treat stormwater in urban areas, and many previous studies indicated GI practices are effective at reducing stormwater runoff flows to watersheds by rerouting flows through vegetation and soil. However, little is known about the effects of maintenance on GI performance. This study evaluated the maintenance efficiency for four GI designs (bioretention, grass channel, compost-amended grass channel, and bioswale) receiving the same weather conditions and pollutants along Lorton Road, Fairfax County, VA, USA., based on water-quality performance and economic costs. Seven regular maintenance events and a forebay restoration were monitored from 2018 to 2022. Stormwater quality performance among these four GI practices before and after these in-field maintenance activities was assessed on the load reduction of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total suspended solids (TSS), and runoff over four years. The average runoff reductions over all monitored storms were 74%, 85%,63%, and 68% for bioretention, grass channel, compost-amended grass channel, and bioswale, respectively. Over these maintenance events, the mean runoff reduction of all monitored GI designs improved by 3% after maintenance, DOC mass load reduction increased by 41%, TDN mass load reduction improved by 21%, and TSS mass load reduction increased by 2%. All the pollutant and runoff reductions for swales improved after spring maintenance events, and monitored GI systems generally performed better after spring maintenance events, potentially due more to the vegetation growth than the maintenance work. Bioretention and compost-amended grass channel DOC load reductions were the only statistically significant GI performance improvements attributable to maintenance.

Challenges Posed During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Special Education Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the ways in which school districts provide educational services to all students, especially students with disabilities. Eligible U.S. students with disabilities have a right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and students with disabilities who are not eligible under the IDEA may also have a right to receive a FAPE under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. School personnel need to attend to both of these important federal laws when providing educational services. Shortly after the pandemic began, the U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, issued guidance to school districts making it clear that despite school closures, school district personnel had to continue providing FAPE under the IDEA and Section 504. Following the return to school, the Office of Civil Rights investigated the Los Angeles Unified School District in California and the Fairfax County Schools for discriminating against students with disabilities by failing to provide educational services during the pandemic. In this article, we briefly review the guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and discuss important implications for teachers of students with disabilities.

Under The Law: Recent developments in the quest for racial diversity in K-12 schools

In June 2023, the Supreme Court held that the admissions systems at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Harvard University were racially discriminatory, effectively ending affirmative action. Are race-neutral admissions policies at selective K-12 schools next? Bob Kim considers two circuit court cases — Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board and Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence v. City of Boston — in which plaintiffs alleged that schools’ race-neutral admissions policies were discriminatory against Asian American students. In both cases, courts found that the cases were not discriminatory. Although how the Supreme Court might rule if it hears these cases is unclear, the bar for finding policies discriminatory is high, requiring not only a desire to increase diversity but also an intent to harm a particular racial group.

SAT565 Is Firefighting An Occupational Risk For Papillary Thyroid Cancer? A Case Report

Abstract Disclosure: S.A. Diamond-Rossi: None. P. Lee: None. C. Thomas: None. R. Stanislawski: None. J. Kim: None. Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most prevalent histologic type of thyroid cancer. The toxic exposures associated with firefighting from both protective gear and combustion products have brought to question whether this population is at an increased risk of developing certain malignancies, including thyroid cancer. The objective of this case report is to raise awareness of the possible association between firefighting and thyroid cancer. Case Presentation: A 46-year-old asymptomatic male career firefighter presented to our clinic following a mobile screening thyroid ultrasound which revealed bilateral suspicious nodules. FNAs of a 1.0 cm right nodule and 1.2 cm left nodule were consistent with papillary thyroid cancer. Lymph node mapping revealed bilateral suspicious lymph nodes in levels 3 and 4 with FNAs confirming metastatic PTC. He underwent total thyroidectomy with bilateral central and lateral lymph node dissections confirming multifocal disease, which included numerous submillimeter foci of PTC. 21 of 68 lymph nodes had metastatic disease. He is now scheduled for adjuvant radioactive iodine therapy. Discussion: Compared to the general population, firefighters have a higher incidence of thyroid cancer. In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that occupational exposure as a firefighter would be considered a Group 1 carcinogen, designating this exposure as having sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity in humans. In recognition of this risk, our local fire department, the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue, has implemented a cancer screening protocol offered to firefighters which includes a mobile thyroid ultrasound. Our patient had extensive disease with bilateral lymph node involvement requiring radioactive iodine after surgical resection. Without a screening ultrasound, it can be presumed that our patient would have presented later and perhaps with even more advanced disease. Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens and possible endocrine disrupting chemicals as part of their work, either via their protective equipment or products of the fire itself. More research is needed to determine if the higher incidence of thyroid cancer can be attributed to this occupational exposure versus surveillance bias due to increased screening of this population in recent years. Presentation: Saturday, June 17, 2023

Recognizing Local Champions in Infection Prevention and Control.

Recognizing Local Champions in Infection Prevention and Control.

Demographic Change and School Attendance Zone Boundary Changes: Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, Between 1990 and 2010

We analyze the relationship between residential populations, school attendance zone boundaries (AZBs), and school enrollments in two large, countywide suburban districts, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1990 to 2010. A steep decline in white, school-age children and an increase in black, Hispanic, and Asian children in both neighborhoods and the schools that serve them suggests that white households reluctant to send their children to diversifying schools are exiting (or never entering) these districts entirely rather than sorting within them. AZB changes, often due to the opening of new schools, affect a large portion of both districts, but boundary changes are associated with only a small portion of increased segregation observed in both schools and neighborhoods between 1990 and 2010. Our findings speak to the complex, multidirectional relationships between demographic trends and AZBs in diversifying, growing suburbs.

Evaluation of the Export of Fecal Contamination from Roadside Green Infrastructure

Fecal contamination in stormwater runoff is a leading contributor of waterbody impairment in the US, and green infrastructure (GI) has demonstrated variable performance in its mitigation. Therefore, there is a need for studies that use robust sampling methods to quantify concentration and load reductions as well as evaluate export of fecal contamination with respect to other water quality constituents. The objective of this study was to characterize the performance of various types of GI systems in mitigating fecal contamination [measured as Escherichia coli (EC)] in highway stormwater runoff. This study was conducted at a field site on Lorton Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, where a bioretention, bioswale, compost-amended grass channel and a grass channel were instrumented for 2 years in all seasons for flow-weighted composite sampling and volume monitoring. The bioretention effectively reduced EC concentration and loading from a relatively high inflow concentration [1,120 most probable number (MPN)/100 mL]. The swales, however, consistently increased EC concentration from their relatively low average inflow concentration of 58 MPN/100 mL but had no significant impact on mass load. For all GI systems, outflow concentrations were regularly above recreational water quality standards. Regression analyses indicated that average daily temperature, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and chloride were significantly correlated with the log-transformed EC concentrations exiting the GI systems. We conclude that EC export is prevalent in varying degrees in the studied GI systems such that the bioretention reduces its presence, whereas the swales often increase its presence. This study provides insight into environmental factors and common stormwater quality constituents that are correlated with the export of fecal contamination from GI.

Resisting Ableism in School-Based Speech-Language Therapy: An Invitation to Change.

Resisting Ableism in School-Based Speech-Language Therapy: An Invitation to Change.

Employee resignation study in Fairfax County

The Great Resignation is an economic trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse. Increasing resignations have created hardships for companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines the presence of the Great Resignation in Fairfax County, Virginia, the consequences of this phenomenon, and possible solutions that local businesses can adopt to minimize the impact of resignations. We hypothesized that by adding benefits such as hybrid work options and healthcare, local companies can fight increasing resignation rates. We collected and analyzed two types of data to verify the hypothesis. The first type was statistical data published by US federal and local governments. The second type was survey data. We created a ten-question survey (the Fairfax Resignation Survey) and sent it to 2,000 employees in Fairfax County. The questions covered the demography of survey respondents, employee turnover status, impact of increasing resignations, and potential solutions to improve the situation. Based on the survey responses and a comprehensive analysis of statistical data and related studies, we concluded that adding additional benefits is critical for companies to retain talent and restrain the growing resignation rate.

Building resiliency in floodplain management: Land use in hydrology treated as a moving target

Rapid urbanization has emerged as a defining global phenomenon, reshaping landscapes, economies, and societies. Understanding the implications of urbanization trends and effectively managing associated risks has become critical imperatives for sustainable development. In this study, we investigate the dynamic nature of land use changes in urban areas and their profound implications for policy applications and flood risk management strategies. To accurately estimate hydrologic parameters and project future trends, the study places a strong emphasis on the need to base assessments on historical and current development states. Furthermore, the study acknowledges that localized land use intensity can surpass generalized comprehensive plans, potentially leading to underestimated hydrological variables and flood risk. To address these challenges, the study introduces an innovative methodology. It utilizes a geospatial raster-based algorithm that incorporates existing land use trends and comprehensive plan zoning districts. This approach enhances the accuracy of runoff curve numbers for the ultimate development conditions. The algorithm is applied to assess hydrology and hydraulics in 30 designated watersheds within Fairfax County, Virginia, revealing substantial changes. Notably, there is an average increase in runoff volume, ranging from 14% for the 1-year storm event to 5% for the 100-year design storms. Additionally, the study applies this methodology to investigate structure flooding within the Pimmit Run watershed, effectively addressing the issue of underestimated flooded structures. By acknowledging the diverse aspects of urbanization, this study not only contributes to the field of hydrology but also provides valuable insights for urban policy development, land use planning, and flood risk management.

First Report of Phytophthora nicotianae Causing Leaf Necrosis on Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ in a Virginia Ornamental Plant Nursery

Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ is a hybrid cultivar resulting from a cross between M. acuminata and M. denudata. On July 6, 2021, during a survey at a Fairfax County, VA ornamental plant nursery, 6 out of 11 plants in 18.9-liter pots exhibited leaf necrosis and premature senescence on the lower branches. Phytophthora nicotianae was identified as the causal agent by morphology and sequencing. A segment of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) was deposited in Genbank under accession numbers ON586858 and ON605612, respectively. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by an attached leaf, living plant inoculation trial. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this species causing foliar necrosis on Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ in a nursery or in the field. Further pathogenicity tests are needed to understand whether hybrids of Magnolia differ in susceptibility to infection when compared with their progenitors.

Predicting building types using OpenStreetMap

Having accurate building information is paramount for a plethora of applications, including humanitarian efforts, city planning, scientific studies, and navigation systems. While volunteered geographic information from sources such as OpenStreetMap (OSM) has good building geometry coverage, descriptive attributes such as the type of a building are sparse. To fill this gap, this study proposes a supervised learning-based approach to provide meaningful, semantic information for OSM data without manual intervention. We present a basic demonstration of our approach that classifies buildings into either residential or non-residential types for three study areas: Fairfax County in Virginia (VA), Mecklenburg County in North Carolina (NC), and the City of Boulder in Colorado (CO). The model leverages (i) available OSM tags capturing non-spatial attributes, (ii) geometric and topological properties of the building footprints including adjacent types of roads, proximity to parking lots, and building size. The model is trained and tested using ground truth data available for the three study areas. The results show that our approach achieves high accuracy in predicting building types for the selected areas. Additionally, a trained model is transferable with high accuracy to other regions where ground truth data is unavailable. The OSM and data science community are invited to build upon our approach to further enrich the volunteered geographic information in an automated manner.

Genetic variation of Borreliella burgdorferi in Fairfax County, Virginia, targeting the OspC gene in white-footed mice.

Outer surface protein C (OspC) is a commonly used marker in population studies of Borreliella to differentiate types and establish evolution over time. Investigating the ospC genetic types of Borreliella burgdorferi across multiple organ tissues of white-footed mice has the potential to contribute to our understanding of Lyme disease and the wide spectrum of clinical presentation associated with infection. In this study, five unique tissue types were sampled from 90 mice and screened for B. burgdorferi infections. This initial screening revealed a 63% overall B. burgdorferi infection rate in the mice collected (57/90). A total of 163 tissues (30.4%) tested positive for B. burgdorferi infections and when mapped to Borreliella types, 143,894 of the initial 322,480 reads mapped to 10 of the reference sequences in the ospC strain library constructed for this study at a 97% MOI. Two tissue types, the ear and the tongue, each accounted for 90% of the observed Borreliella sequence diversity in the tissue samples surveyed. The largest amount of variation was observed in an individual ear tissue sample with six ospC sequence types, which is equivalent to 60% of the observed variation seen across all tested specimens, with statistically significant associations observed between tissue type and detected Borreliella. There is strong evidence for genetic variability in B. burgdorferi within local white-footed mouse populations and even within individual hosts by tissue type. These findings may shed light on drivers of infection sequalae in specific tissues in humans and highlights the need for expanded surveillance on the epigenetics of B. burgdorferi across reservoirs, ticks, and infected patients.

Race and the Use of Force by Police Revisited: Post-Ferguson Findings From a Large County Police Agency

This study examines racial and ethnic disparities in the use of force by the Fairfax County, VA Police Department using post-Ferguson data and after the adoption of modern training and use of force policies on de-escalation. White civilians were overrepresented as subjects of force compared to a variety of benchmarks, while Hispanics were underrepresented. Black and Asian civilians also were overrepresented using some benchmarks but not others. Multivariate models revealed that Black civilians experienced more severe force, higher average force levels, and more total force than Whites. We discuss possible reasons for the overrepresentation of Blacks and Whites as subjects of force, as well as the disparities in force levels and the totality of force experienced by Black civilians. We conclude with suggestions for policy change, training, and deployment changes to help reduce the potential influence of unconscious bias in the application of force by the FCPD and other law enforcement agencies.

Transit GIS Applications in Fairfax County, Virginia

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (DOT) manages a fixed-route bus system (the Fairfax Connector) that encompasses 58 routes. To better support the planning, operation, and marketing of this bus system, the Fairfax County DOT and the Fairfax County Department of Information Technology formed a team to develop a pilot project of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) transit applications. These applications would serve as a demonstration to facilitate automation, analysis, accessing, and plotting of transit data. To be successful, the applications had to be cost effective and match users’ technical needs with their abilities.Paramount to the success of this project was having a transit database capable of supporting all the applications identified by the development team. The database had to handle problems such as bus stops serving more than one route and routing varying by time of day. To effectively model the bus routes in GIS, each path had to be uniquely identified even though the same route could travel on different paths. Dynamic segmentation of ARC/INFO v.7.1 was used to develop the route database. A bus stop database, in the format of ARC/INFO coverage, was then related to the route coverage.More than 15 applications were identified for three areas of transit management: planning, operation, and marketing. Planning applications focused on transit service improvement and route restructuring. They included routing adjustment, route demographic and land-use analysis, and reporting of statistics required by the National Transit Database. Operation applications were designed for daily service monitoring and consisted of route running times, loading at bus stops, and emergency service. Marketing applications emphasized functions for public outreach, which included creating specialized route and stop maps and publishing route information on the Internet. Most end-user applications were built in ArcVìew 3.0 using Avenue and Dialog Designer. Some applications were built with ESRIs Map Objects (MO) and Map Objects Internet Map Server.

Resource Savings Associated With Use of an Automated Symptom Monitoring Tool for COVID-19 Public Health Response, Summer 2020-Summer 2021.

Context:Active symptom monitoring is a key component of the public health response to COVID-19, but these activities are resource-intensive. Digital tools can help reduce the burden of staff time required for active symptom monitoring by automating routine outreach activities.Program:Sara Alert is an open-source, Web-based automated symptom monitoring tool launched in April 2020 to support state, tribal, local, and territorial jurisdictions in their symptom monitoring efforts.Implementation:As of October 2021, a total of 23 public health jurisdictions in the United States had used Sara Alert to perform daily symptom monitoring for more than 6.1 million individuals. This analysis estimates staff time and cost saved in 3 jurisdictions that used Sara Alert as part of their COVID-19 response, across 2 use cases: monitoring of close contacts exposed to COVID-19 (Arkansas; Fairfax County, Virginia), and traveler monitoring (Puerto Rico).Evaluation:A model-based approach was used to estimate the additional staff resources that would have been required to perform the active symptom monitoring automated by Sara Alert, if monitoring instead relied on traditional methods such as telephone outreach. Arkansas monitored 283 705 individuals over a 10-month study period, generating estimated savings of 61.9 to 100.6 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, or $2 798 922 to $4 548 249. Fairfax County monitored 63 989 individuals over a 13-month study period, for an estimated savings of 24.8 to 41.4 FTEs, or $2 826 939 to $4 711 566. In Puerto Rico, where Sara Alert was used to monitor 2 631 306 travelers over the 11-month study period, estimated resource savings were 849 to 1698 FTEs, or $26 243 161 to $52 486 322.Discussion:Automated symptom monitoring helped reduce the staff time required for active symptom monitoring activities. Jurisdictions reported that this efficiency supported a rapid and comprehensive COVID-19 response even when experiencing challenges with quickly scaling up their public health workforce.

Mitigation of Deicing Salt Loading to Water Resources by Transpiration from Green Infrastructure Vegetation

Green infrastructure (GI) protects aquatic ecosystems from stormwater runoff caused by urban development. Bioretention (BR) is a typical GI system wherein stormwater runoff is routed to a soil basin planted with vegetation and has been shown to reduce deicing salt loads in surface runoff, but the removal mechanism of salt is poorly understood. This study explores the potential of different vegetation types to reduce deicing salt released from a BR by transpiration. Six engineered soil media columns were built in a laboratory greenhouse to simulate a 1012 m2 BR basin along Lorton Road, Fairfax County, VA, USA. The effect of vegetation type (Blue Wild Indigo and Broadleaf Cattail) and influent salt concentration on flow volume and salt mass reduction were quantified for multiple storm events. For all storm events, chloride inflow concentrations, and vegetation types, Cl− load reduction ranged from 26.1% to 33.5%, Na+ load reduction ranged from 38.2% to 47.4%, and volume reductions ranged from 11.4% to 41.9%. Different inflow salt concentrations yielded different removal rates of deicing salt, and for a given column, salt removal decreased over sequential storm events. For each influent salt concentration, columns planted with Broadleaf Cattail (BC) performed better for volume and salt mass reductions than columns planted with Blue Wild Indigo (BWI), which in turn performed better than the controls.

Incorporating spatial autocorrelation into house sale price prediction using random forest model

AbstractThe random forest model has been frequently used for house sale price prediction because researchers have shown that it can create better results with smaller prediction errors than conventional statistical models. However, house sale prices tend to be spatially autocorrelated due to shared neighborhood environments and similar physical characteristics, which have been rarely considered and accounted for in the random forest model. A failure to address spatial autocorrelation may result in over‐ or underpredicted house sale prices, especially when these sale prices are highly spatially dependent. This research proposes an extended random forest approach, introducing additional proxy variables that furnish geographic proximity measures of house locations in order to capture spatial autocorrelation that is unexplained by covariates. An application of the extended random forest approach for house sale prices in Fairfax County, Virginia, confirms the effectiveness of the proxy variables with an improvement of house sale price prediction accuracy. The introduction of the proxy variables can correct over‐ and under‐predicted house sale prices that show an underlying spatial structure.

Eugene Dudley, PhD: 3rd District

Eugene Dudley, PhD:3rd District Judson L. Jeffries Eugene Dudley, PhD, a 4th generation Hebrew Israelite and longtime resident of Plainfield, New Jersey, not long ago moved to Chesterfield County, Virginia, located 20 miles outside of Richmond, the state capital. Chesterfield County is the fourth largest county in the state, trailing only Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties. The area has seen some significant changes throughout the decades—the population being one of them. Since, the Great Depression, Chesterfield's population has grown steadily. The largest spike occurred between the years 1970 and 1980. During that 10-year period, the population increased by 84%, from 76,855 to 141,372. As for its political leanings, voters there tend to be rather conservative. Since 1948, after voting for incumbent Harry Truman over Republican Thomas Dewey, the county has voted for the Republican in every presidential election through 2016. Surprisingly, in 2020, Joe Biden defeated Trump in Chesterfield by a 7-point margin, becoming the first Democratic president to win the county in 72 years. In addition to being a longtime member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Brother Dudley is also a proud member of the Prince Hall Masons as well as the Ancient Egypt Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine. Below is a conversation that occurred over the course of three days in March, with the first conversation lasting well over three hours. Judson L. Jeffries: For a long time you lived in Jersey Brother Dudley, but where did you grow up? Eugene Dudley: I grew up in New York actually. JLJ: Oh, where exactly? ED: The Bronx. JLJ: Well, I happen to be intimately familiar with the Bronx; where in the Bronx? ED: In Eastchester Projects. [End Page 293] JLJ: Oh, I know exactly where that is; that's over there near Boston Road, in Northeast Bronx. Although by the time I came along it was called Eastchester Gardens not Eastchester Projects. ED: Oh, ok. JLJ: Well, what high school did you attend? ED: Evander Childs High School. JLJ: Oh, ok, Evander Childs—I think that school closed down some time ago, didn't it? ED: Yeah, it's some kind of education center now. JLJ: Yeah, that's over there on Gun Hill Road. Anyway, so you attended college at North Carolina Central University in Durham. ED: Actually, it was called North Carolina College at Durham when I was there. JLJ: As a student of Black college history, I'm surprised I didn't know that. Ok, but for the purposes of this discussion I'll refer to it by its current name, NCCU. ED: Ok, NCCU. JLJ: What year did you enter? ED: I started in the Spring of 1964. JLJ: Wait a minute, what year did you graduate from Evander? ED: 1960. JLJ: But you enrolled at North Carolina Central University in the spring of 1964, right? ED: Right, but I took a few detours between the time I graduated high school and when I went down south. JLJ: Please explain. ED: Well, after high school I went to Bronx Community College, but left in the spring of 1961. In the fall of 1961, I enrolled in the City College of New York, but dropped out the same semester. After that I got a job working with Youth Employment Services for the state of New York. JLJ: Ok, looks like you took a circuitous route to get to NCCU. ED: I did. JLJ: Ok, well, how did you end up at NCCU? ED: I was on the train one day coming home from work and noticed a guy wearing a varsity-type jacket, and I asked him what college was that? And he said North Carolina College at Durham. Then I asked him what it was like down there. And he said, well, there are 12 girls to every guy. [End Page 294] JLJ: That sounds like a slight exaggeration, don't you think Brother Dudley? ED: I don't think so, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! JLJ: Anyway, what were your thoughts when he said that? ED: I said to myself "oh, I'm going there." JLJ: That's what...