USPHS: About Us

USPHS: About Us

Behind The Scenes

Note: CDC’s DNPAO is the duty station for nine members of the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service. Commissioned Corps officers are regularly deployed in response to man-made and natural disasters, ranging from hurricanes in the United States to Ebola in West Africa. Here is one example of a Commissioned Corps officer stationed at CDC’s DNPAO who assisted with the coronavirus response.

Eileen Bosso, health scientist

As a US Commissioned Corps lieutenant commander, I was deployed twice for COVID-19 response. First, I was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramir in San Diego, California, for 3 weeks. We oversaw the screening and monitoring of American citizens and their families who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, and quarantined for 2 weeks at Miramar. Our work included daily temperature checks and symptom screening for all evacuees.

In mid-March, I was assigned to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for 2 weeks. There I worked with the Global Migration Task Force on another repatriation mission, this time for American citizens aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship. I assisted with issuing quarantine and isolation orders, information management, and planning.

Back at CDC’s DNPAO, I work in the Office of Policy, Partnerships, and Communications. During my 5 years with the team, I have served as a policy subject matter expert and lead for partnership activities for multiple topics including food service guidelines, infant and toddler nutrition, and pediatric weight management. I assist with reports to Congress, Congressional inquiries, and Government Accountability Office engagements. I am also a liaison to the CDC Foundation, and I work closely with several national partners.

What is your greatest professional satisfaction?

I am incredibly proud of our work with the Department of Defense and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors to better serve our active duty service members who live off military bases. This partnership led to the recent release of a Building Healthy Military Communities Toolkit. As a uniformed service member, I am grateful for the opportunity to work on improving the health and well-being of our military.

How do partners help you do your work?

One way that partners are critical is their ability to expand the reach of our audience. For example, when our Nutrition Branch launched the Infant and Toddler Nutrition website, our partnership with 1,000 Days played a huge role in reaching our audience of parents and caregivers.

What would you like partners to know?

We could not move our work forward without the support of our partners. I would like them to know how grateful we are for everything they do. They are the key to our success.

Favorite quote:

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."—Ruth Bader Ginsburg