NHD’s Responsibilities Range From Anthrax To Ziti (Dinners)

By John Voket

There is an old saying that goes: If you want something done, ask a busy person. If it wasn’t for its published mission statement, one might find it easy to believe that old saying is actually the credo of the Newtown Health District.

The formal mission statement of the NHD reads: “To Promote Physical and Mental Health and Prevent Disease, Injury, and Disability.” It is still quite a comprehensive charge considering the modest office and its half-dozen staff members can potentially touch the lives of virtually every person in Newtown at any given time.

And it appears that things will not be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, it may be quite the opposite.

The Newtown Health District is on the cusp of expanding from its current role of overseeing all health-related matters in Newtown and the Borough of Newtown to becoming a regional health district encompassing the communities of Bridgewater and Roxbury, as well.

NHD Director Donna Culbert seems to take it all in stride, shrugging off the challenge with an easy smile and an air of good old New England pragmatism.

“Bridgewater already held its town meeting to ratify the consolidation and it passed easily,” she said in a recent interview. “And Roxbury had a public hearing on it [preceding its town meeting seeking formal endorsement], and the feeling was positive. Overall we’re seeing a general consensus of support for the move.”

The consolidation is part of a statewide public health initiative to eliminate numerous parochial small town health districts. Several of these smaller districts are still operated part-time and managed by a well-meaning semiretired health officials or physicians who split their time away from their own practice. Not necessarily the best public health scenario in this post-September 11, post-Hurricane Katrina world.

“At my state orientation I sat with a couple of doctors who were still serving as their town’s public health directors,” Ms Culbert recalled. “My impression is these doctors are great when it comes to administering health management and service delivery, but they tend to delegate the rest of their responsibilities to sanitarians.”

Currently, by statute, every Connecticut community has to be served by either a medical doctor (MD) or an individual holding a master’s degree in public health (MPH). Every town and city must also employ the services of at least one licensed sanitarian, Ms Culbert said.

Newtown currently employs two of these professionals, Senior Sanitarian Michael Carey, who holds a MPH degree, and Sanitarian Edward Knapik. In the coming weeks, as the local district expands to accommodate the expanding jurisdiction of two new communities, Ms Culbert expects to add the full-time services of an additional sanitarian who currently serves Bridgewater and Roxbury on a part-time basis.

She explained that by having three sanitarians serving all three communities and the borough, the staff members will be able to handle their duties even more efficiently, providing better coverage when one takes time off, and opening up some valuable time for professional development.

 

Homeland Security Duties

Professional development for all of her staff members has always been a key element of public health administration. But an ever-widening scope of training has become exponentially greater in recent years as health districts and departments statewide have been forced to ramp up initiatives and training in disaster management, bioterrorism, and other related areas.

“Public health-related issues have always been a part of the homeland security picture, but until recently we’ve always taken a backseat to police, fire, and emergency medical departments,” Ms Culbert said. “We always used to meet once or twice a year, and worked closely with state health officials, but lately it seems we’re a lot busier with those concerns. I’m just happy to see we’re considered an equal player at the planning table beside emergency services networks.”

The health director said departments like hers had already begun preliminary terror and manmade disaster training prior to 9/11, but the incidents of that day and subsequent attacks including the most recent rash of incidents in London, “pushed us into action on a much more proactive basis.”

“We’re fortunate that the federal government has put more money into the system for health department preparedness,” Ms Culbert said. “We were always on board when it came to natural disasters, but since we’ve been incorporating homeland security training, we’re really learning that in our capacity, we’re addressing the same basic needs.”

She pointed to recent incidents in the Gulf Coast states following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as examples of what communities might face in the event of a homeland security breach in the region.

“We’re basically looking at sheltering a significant number of people and taking care of their basic needs,” she said. “In those cases the people who are affected just need to feel like someone capable is in charge and looking out for them.”

On a local level, Ms Culbert feels that Newtown is well-prepared if a larger-scale disaster was to hit. She said the community has successfully coordinated response and other emergency service responsibilities among the local fire departments, police, school, and local political leaders.

“Basically my main concern is that all our residents are adequately prepared to sit tight in their homes for a couple of days with minimal to no outside contact,” she said. “It’s important for families to have a plan for communication and survival whether it’s because of a security threat or even a large scale blizzard or ice storm.”

NHD’s Public Face

Since her arrival in Newtown, Ms Culbert has made it her priority to enhance the public face of her department, whether it involves basic customer service practices on the part of her staff who greet and help visitors to the department’s offices on Peck’s Lane, or encounters between residents and health district staffers in the field.

Besides day-to-day counter “encounters” that occur primarily with NHD administrative assistant Maureen Schaedler, district food inspector Suzette LeBlanc, the two sanitarians, and even medical advisor Thomas Draper, MD, are often called upon to provide answers to a broad variety of questions as they perform their public duties.

“From my perspective, the best assets Newtown has are this department’s team of well-qualified people serving them,” she said. “The Health District is full of educated, certified, well trained, and fully qualified individuals.”

Ms Culbert admits that 2005 has been a challenging year, filled with the needs of an ever-growing community.

“The district’s year has been highlighted by continual interaction and cooperative efforts with all of the other town offices and agencies, the public, contractors, engineers, developers, utility companies, and regulatory agencies,” she said. “On any given day we’ve been called to respond to complaints ranging from garbage dumping, to odor problems, to wastewater overflows, to school health issues, to water quality problems, to food service safety.”

According to Ms Culbert, the district strives to share its vision and achieve its mission by providing public health services that include:

Monitoring health status to identify community problems,

Diagnosing and investigating health problems and health hazards in the community,

Informing and educating people about health issues,

Mobilizing community partnerships and actions to identify and solve health problems,

Developing policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts,

Enforcing laws and regulations to protect health and ensure safety,

Linking people to needed personal health services and assuring the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable,

Assuring a competent public health and personal health care workforce,

Evaluating effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population based health services,

Researching for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.

She said that in Newtown, new home construction and many residential renovations/improvements drive much of the district staff work. Besides reviewing site plans, her office and staff members permit and inspect septic system construction; review and certify water supply well locations; facilitate soil testing, which is the preparatory groundwork for future subdivisions; and supervise 75–100 septic repairs annually.

Her office is also charged with reviewing proposed subdivision plans for Planning & Zoning decisions, and inspecting all local food service facilities.

“This always keeps us busy,” Ms Culbert commented. She said every food service establishment or activity down to the annual scout coffee stops at Exit 11 require plan review, licensing, and inspections

Speaking to Health Monitor during a recent inspection at Newtown Middle School, town food inspector Suzette LeBlanc explained that her responsibilities range from monitoring delis to full-service restaurant, as well as convenience stores selling prepackaged food, grocery stores, and all town school and industrial food service facilities. Ms LeBlanc said she and her fellow sanitarians, who are also certified food service inspectors, also monitor temporary events like the recent tercentennial picnic, the St. Rose Carnival, and the annual Lobsterfest.

In addition, the NHD inspects child care facilities in collaboration with Connecticut Department of Public Heath Daycare Licensing Unit, collaborates with school nurses, School District Health Coordinator (Judy Blanchard), and the Superintendent of Schools on health promotion efforts, and participates in the Tools for Schools indoor air quality program for all the public schools.

Looking To The Future

Ms Culbert said Newtowners overall are quite fortunate that the community has always fostered active lifestyles among its residents, schools, clubs, and institutions. But she still has a number of issues she would like to address even more comprehensively in the future.

Her department has applied for a block grant to conduct a full or partial behavioral risk survey as part of the community’s overall health needs assessment.

“We’re looking to highlight all the positive as well as the negative lifestyle behaviors affecting the public’s health,” she said. “Newtown residents as a group maintain fairly active lifestyles and the residents overall are eager to know more.”

She attributed that quest for even better health as the main reason why this year’s community health fair was “the best ever.” And she hopes its success will inspire other smaller health education and information sessions from the senior center to the schools.

The health director is also continuing to monitor the town’s ever-increasing incidents of Lyme disease, as well as problems related to the consumption of illegal drugs, improper use of prescription medications, and alcohol abuse.

“Every community tends to have a bit of a denial factor when you talk about drug and alcohol abuse, but I think Newtown is working a little harder than most toward managing and improving the situation,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to completely solve the problems, but we have to try.”

For more information on NHD programs and activities, visit the district’s offices at the municipal center, 31 Peck’s Lane, during regular business hours or call 203-2704291.