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Norwalk
Health Department
Board of Health Actions
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January 9, 2007
8:00 AM
Library
Call to order at 8:10 AM
Present: Board of Health – Ken Lalime, RPH, Martha Lemmon PE, and Edward Tracey,
MD
Staff – Tim Callahan, Director of Health, David Reed MD, MPH, Medical Director
and Patricia Carey, APRN
Guest – Anthony Allison, Program Officer, Norwalk Children’s Foundation
Minutes of December 12, 2006 meeting
A motion to approve the minutes as corrected was made by Mr. Lalime, seconded
by Dr. Tracey and passed unanimously.
Norwalk ACTS
Anthony Allison, Program Officer of the Norwalk Children’s Foundation spoke
about the Foundation and the Norwalk ACTS project. Mr. Allison told the Board
that Norwalk ACTS is a group of concerned city leaders working collectively
to directly improve the lives and futures of Norwalk youth. This nearly two-year
old group is coordinating the efforts of agencies that have an influence on
children at home, in the community and in the schools. Three goals are to insure
all children attend a quality pre school program, all children are healthy and
the parents get the information they need to raise their children. The majority
of work to date is focused on improving pre school education by improving programs
and increasing the number of quality openings in pre schools. The health component
is being developed and the Health Director is working with the organizers. Mr.
Lalime commended Mr. Allison for the clearly defined and well-written strategic
plan. A motion to endorse Norwalk ACTS and encourage the organizers to develop
a methodology to measure the impact of their efforts in helping children to
succeed. Dr. Tracey seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Vaccines
Zostavax: David Reed, MD, MPH and Patricia Carey, APRN presented information
on Zostavax. Zostavax is a vaccine indicated for the prevention of herpes zoster
(shingles) in individuals 60 years of age and older. This is a single dose vaccine.
Ms Carey said she has received numerous inquiries for this vaccine.
Gardasil: David Reed, MD, MPH and Patricia Carey, APRN presented information
on Gardasil. This vaccine helps protect against diseases such as cervical cancer,
abnormal and pre-cancerous cervical lesions, vaginal lesions and vulvar lesions
and genital warts caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Gardasil is for girls
and women ages 9 – 26 years. This vaccine will be offered in the Travel clinic
and the State sponsored Vaccines for Children program.
A motion to approve the use of Zostavax and Gardasil was made by Mr. Lalime,
seconded by Ms. Lemmon and passed unanimously.
Geese
The Board revisited this matter and discussed the article, which asserts geese
feces are not pathogenic for humans. The Board concluded that it is important
to consider other views. However, geese feces harbor pathogens such as salmonella
and e coli which are human pathogens. The geese population continues to increase
and developing a plan to address this situation is timely and important. Dr.
Tracey Asked Mr. Callahan to speak with his counterpart in Greenwich to find
out how effective their efforts has been. Mr. Callahan will report back to the
Board in February.
Other Business
Bed Bugs
The calls for information and assistance in eliminating infestations of bed
bugs continue to increase. Rhonda Collins, Health Educator and Tom Closter,
Director of Environmental Health developed an information sheet, which is available
in print and on the web site.
Women Infants and Children’s (WIC) Program
The Connecticut Department of Public Health, the administrative agency for this
program, is going to reduce the number of contracts statewide. The Norwalk Stamford
regions are being consolidated. Mr. Callahan and Johnnie Lee, MD, Stamford Health
Director met and have agreed to submit one proposal. Stamford will serve as
the lead agency and Norwalk will sub contract from Stamford and serve the greater
Norwalk area.
Adjourn 9:40 AM
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