Denise Chrysler, J.D., serves as Senior Advisor, Mid-States Region. She served as the Mid-States Office’s director from the time the Network was launched in September 2010 until she retired from the position in February 2023.
Before joining the Network, for 27 years, Denise provided legal services to Michigan’s state health department regarding communicable disease, immunization, environmental public health, public health research, privacy, health information exchange, and emergency legal preparedness and response. She served as the state health department’s public health legal director, privacy officer, freedom of information coordinator, regulatory affairs officer, and member of the Institutional Review Board. She also represented the health department as an assistant attorney general. Currently, Denise serves on the Ingham County Michigan board of health, Michigan Governor’s Public Health Advisory Council, and the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.
Denise is the recipient of the Roy J. Manty Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to public health in Michigan and the Frank J. Kelley Award for Excellence for successful efforts to protect mammograms and medical records of some 200,000 patients in Southeast Michigan that were abandoned by a bankrupt health care provider.
Denise grew up on a dairy farm in northern Indiana. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1980. She and her husband, Paul Pratt, live in Lansing, Michigan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they adopted two kittens and named them “Pfizer” and “Moderna.”
This issue brief provides an overview of the legal framework involved in detecting and responding to a mosquito-borne disease outbreak in Michigan and discusses important ethical principles that may guide decision-making.
This FAQ addresses questions of HIPAA compliance and requirements in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. This FAQ is broken into eight sections.
This webinar provided attendees with a legal and ethical framework for executive decision-making, covering mandatory and discretionary actions and the exercise of professional judgment in responding to COVID-19.
by Overview Public health attorneys and practitioners are developing incredibly useful tools to support important data sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope…
During this pandemic, public health may be asked to share patient specific COVID-19 information with first responders. Here is one county health department’s protocols for sharing COVID-19 identifiable patient information with first responders.
by Overview Emergency responders (EMS) request that public health officials provide the name and residential address/location of each positive COVID-19 case in their…
Data are essential for public health surveillance, epidemiological investigation, research, program development, implementation and evaluation. Sharing data across government agencies assists in addressing social determinants of health, environmental needs and risk factors; in better aligning services that support individuals; and in enhanced public health surveillance. Further, better information for health and human services agencies generally produces better care.
This new tool provides a checklist to assist public health practitioners in providing relevant factual information to resolve questions about proposed data collection, access and sharing.
This tool provides a checklist of key questions for public health decision-makers and practitioners to consider in making a decision whether to act or to wait based on information known at the time. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
This toolkit is intended for privacy officers, public health practitioners and their attorneys. It includes legal, policy and practical guidance to understand and implement HIPAA’s hybrid entity option.
This toolkit provides public health practitioners and others with the tools and resources to better understand de-identification for improved collection and use activities, and to more freely, safely and legally disclose de-identified data needed for the community’s information infrastructure.
This report, co-authored by attorneys from the Network for Public Health Law and the University of Michigan School of Public Health, details why shortcomings in the structure and implementation of laws related to public health, safe drinking water, and emergency financial management failed to stop or mitigate the Flint water crisis. Along with key findings, the report provides recommendations to help prevent similar crises from happening in other communities.
