NORWICH – Members of the Chenango County Health Network and Health Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Area Agency on Aging and the Greenway Conservatory Board gathered with approximately 50 colleagues, community partners and New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Richard Daines for several formal presentations in recognition of National Public Health Week.
Chenango County Health Department (CCHD) H1N1 School/Public Health Initiative Lead Coordinator Barbara McCarty’s presentation on the recent pandemic in particular received the commissioner’s praise, and he awarded CCHD Director Marcas Flindt with the state’s Balto Award, in “recognition for all the great work you’ve done.”
The initiative, which offered 72 clinics in only 75 days last year and provided treatment for all of the county’s schools, was lauded by the commissioner for its innovative approach in addressing the pandemic, and he said it was “important to recognize the terrific work that public health did here.”
Daines also applauded local efforts to combat the state’s obesity problem, through the Chenango Greenway Conservatory Trail and Cornell Cooperative Extension community gardens, and said that the “emphasis on physical activity feeds right into our agenda for combating obesity.”
Speakers for both programs stated that important changes are forthcoming in the near future, including a proposed expansion of the Greenway Trail to incorporate all of the municipalities along the Chenango River between Utica and Binghamton, and expansion of the community garden program to extend into other county communities.
Chenango Health Network Tobacco Program Coordinator James Mutabiilwa reported on the continued success of the county’s Tobacco Prevention Program, specifically the impact of second hand smoke and the changing attitudes towards it in the community. Recent studies, he said, have revealed that an increasing number of people are in favor of “limiting or even eliminating tobacco advertisement in retail environments and limiting smoking in entrance doors, parks, playgrounds and at public events.”
Daines commented that “tobacco use continues to be a scourge in New York, and although we’ve cut its use almost in half on the state level it’s nice to see communities continue to address it.”
Area Agency on Aging Director Deb Sanderson, in her New York Connects presentation, stated that while “cooperation between all of the different health agencies has made access to services less confusing and easier for clients looking to navigate the system,” she was frustrated by “gaps in the system.”
“Through assessment we almost always know what our clients need, we just do not always have the services to help them,” stated Sanderson.
Executive Director Tina Utley Edwards, speaking on behalf of the Chenango Health Network, said her agency is primarily focused on community access to care, chronic disease prevention and mental health issues, and added that group had successfully utilized local women in advertising campaigns to entice all at-risk women to be screened regularly for cancer.
Commissioner Daines stated that the hour of presentations was “remarkable,” and that they “really illustrated what we’re trying to accomplish in New York State.”