Letter to the Editor: Town-Wide Health Updates from Westfield Board of Health

This latest Letter to the Editor was submitted to Westfield Patch by the Westfield Department of Health.

To the Editor:

The Westfield Board of Health met on April 6, 2015.

This year, 4 residents have been diagnosed with Lyme disease already. The risk of Lyme disease increases in the spring, but it can be prevented. Residents should avoid direct contact with ticks by following some simple precautions:

1. Make your yard less tick friendly by clearing tall grasses and brush.
2. Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter.
3. Walk in the center of trails.
4. Use appropriate insect repellants.
5. After an outing, check your children and yourself for ticks and remove any ticks found.
6. Check your pets for ticks daily, especially after they are outside, and remove any ticks found. Other appropriate precautions can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/index.html.

The Westfield Regional Health Department distributed 22 free helmets and educational information to children and their parents as part of the “Be Hard Headed” Helmet Safety campaign. This program is sponsored by the Safe Kids of Union County Coalition and Children’s Specialized Hospital to prevent head injuries from biking, scooters and other sports. Additional free helmets are available. For more information, please contact Laura Scanlon, RN, the Public Health Nursing Supervisor, at 908-789-4070, extension 4074, or lscanlon@westfieldnj.gov.

The newly formed Greater Westfield Mental Health Coalition represents many community, civic, religious and government organizations, including the health department. Its goal is to improve community mental health services and better meet the mental health needs for our residents. For more information, please contact Ms. Scanlon.

Six pre-school and one public school immunization audits were completed in March. All 254 public school children were properly vaccinated. One preschool had 100% compliance and the others were counseled. Reaudit compliance rates were 100% for 2 pre-schools, 98% for two and 96% for one.

The health department is sponsoring health screenings with Overlook Hospital at the Overlook Downtown Center, 357 Springfield Avenue in Summit. Bone density screening will be on Monday, April 13 and April 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and cholesterol screening on Monday, April 20 and May 4, for a $10 charge each. Free blood pressure and diabetes screenings will also be available. For more information and to register, please contact the Overlook Community Health Department at 1-800-247-9580.

Information about all of the health department’s activities is available on its website http://www.westfieldnj.gov/health. The complete minutes of the April 6 meeting will be posted after review and approval at our May 4 meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building. The public is invited to attend.

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