LIVING WELL IN ESSEX COUNTY | | | | |
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- Children’s Services Update
| | July is UV Safety Month! The sun provides vitamin D for healthy bones, but too much can damage unprotected skin. | | | | | |
Community Care Kiosk located at the DMV in Elizabethtown | |
Dive into Summer: Your Season of Health & Wellness! 😎🏊♀️
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Dear Community Members,
As summer heats up, I'm excited to share some important updates from the Essex County Health Department (ECHD) and highlight new initiatives designed to foster a healthier community.
Public Health on the Go: Community Care Kiosks
We're proud to announce an exciting new initiative: Community Care Kiosks! These innovative, no-cost vending machines will be placed strategically throughout the county, providing essential public health items.
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"The Community Care Kiosks represent a progressive step towards a healthier Essex County," said Linda Beers, Public Health Director at ECHD. "By making crucial supplies readily available, we aim to remove barriers and provide a way for people to obtain important health supplies."
These machines will offer convenient access to items like:
- Sunscreen
- Insect Repellent
- Condoms
- Bath water and forehead thermometers
- Nail and tick kits
- Narcan (for opioid overdose reversal)
- Fentanyl test strips
Our Community Care Kiosks are located at:
- Mountain Lake Consignment & Engraving on Main Street in Port Henry
- Essex County Jail on 702 Stowersville Road in Lewis
- Department of Motor Vehicles on Court Street in Elizabethtown
We are excited about these new initiatives and look forward to a healthy and safe summer for everyone!
Sincerely,
Linda Beers
Director of Public Health
phone: 518-873-3500
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Our Community's Health: Insights from the Community Health Assessment
Understanding our community's well-being is at the core of what we do. Our Community Health Assessment (CHA) helps us identify Essex County's health needs, strengths, and resources. Earlier this year, 562 Essex County residents responded to our health survey, providing invaluable feedback.
You told us that affordable housing, livable wages, access to healthcare, safe neighborhoods, and good schools are most important for a strong, healthy community, followed by a clean environment and resources for older adults. This feedback, gathered through our survey and in collaboration with Elizabethtown Community Hospital and Adirondack Medical Center, directly shapes the CHA. This assessment guides the ECHD and our healthcare partners in improving the health of all Essex County residents.
You can check out the full summary of our Community Health Assessment Survey below (click to enlarge)
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Stay Safe This Summer: Extreme Heat Dashboard
To help you stay safe as temperatures rise, we're launching the Extreme Heat Essex County Dashboard. This new, localized resource provides a color-coded map forecasting extreme heat risks and highlights groups most vulnerable to heat-related illness. Remember, heat can be dangerous, so please use this tool to stay informed and protect yourselves and your loved ones.
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This month's focus is all about bats.
- Not all bats have rabies. In fact most bats don’t have rabies.
- Rabies is found in all bat species in NY.
- Rabies can be transmitted from bats to other mammals, but rabid bats rarely attack people.
- Rabid bats may show unusual behavior like fluttering on the ground, flying during the day, or biting people or animals.
What to do if you find a bat in your house? Try and catch it and call ECHD! - this video provides easy instructions on how to safely catch a bat.
Remember, the chances of coming in contact with an animal that has rabies is never zero. Brush up on your rabies facts here.
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If you or your pet have been bitten, scratched or have had contact with the saliva of any animal, wash the wound immediately with soap and water, call this Department for assistance in planning treatment.
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Report an Animal Bite
Report all animal bites /exposures to Essex County Health Department
Mon-Fri 8 AM – 4 PM 518-873-3500
After Business Hours, Weekends, Holidays call 518-873-3500, you will be connected to our on call staff.
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We want to give a huge Round of "a paws" to the 448 pets who have received their rabies vaccine so far in 2025! | | | | |
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Ticks in Essex County:
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in New York. However, other serious diseases can also be spread by ticks, including babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, hard tick relapsing fever, and Powassan encephalitis.
In many cases for Lyme disease, a tick needs to be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more to transmit the bacteria. If you remove a tick within 24 hours, the risk of getting Lyme disease is lower. But some tick-borne diseases, like the Powassan virus, can be transmitted much faster, potentially within just 15 minutes.
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Understanding Tick Habitat and Reducing Risk:
Deer ticks are commonly found in shady, moist environments at ground level, such as tall grass, brush, and shrubs (typically below 2 feet). They can also be present in residential yards, particularly near wooded areas and stone walls.
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Check Daily for Ticks
- Perform thorough tick checks on yourself and your pets after every outdoor activity, especially on mild days.
- Wear protective clothing like long pants, long sleeves, and closed-toe shoes when venturing into areas where ticks are common.
By being aware and taking these precautions, you can enjoy the outdoors safely and minimize the risk of tick bites.
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Bringing Healthy Food Education to Life with the Charlie Cart!
The Essex County Food Hub recently received a grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. This incredible award will allow the Essex Food Hub and the Essex County Health Department to kick off a year-long pilot project, bringing new and innovative support directly to WIC families.
Part of this exciting initiative includes the Charlie Cart Project, which aims to make hands-on food education fun and accessible for children. We believe that by empowering kids to make healthy food choices now, they'll build lifelong healthy habits. WIC has 8 outings planned with the Charlie Cart from July to October, so be sure to check our calendar of events on Facebook for details on where and when you can join us!
Beyond the Charlie Cart outings, we're planning a variety of engaging educational opportunities for families. These will include simple recipes, live cooking events at WIC clinic sites featuring the new Charlie Cart, and on-demand recordings of these sessions for all families to enjoy at their convenience.
We're thrilled about this partnership and the positive impact it will have on our WIC families. Stay tuned for more details on how to participate in this exciting new program!
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WIC "N" PICK is back!!!🌱🥕🍓🍆🥒🍅
We're excited to announce the return of our incredibly popular WIC 'N' PICK community engagement series for 2025!
This initiative, which first started in 2022, was a tremendous hit with our WIC families, and we're excited to bring it back for another season of fresh produce and community connection.
Join us for 13 confirmed Tuesday evenings from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at DaCy Meadow Farm.
This is a fantastic opportunity to:
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Connect with other WIC families: Share experiences, make new friends, and build a stronger community.
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Support a local farm: Help sustain DaCy Meadow Farm, a vital part of our local economy.
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Pick your own fresh produce: Gather an abundance of extra veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers directly from the farm to take home and enjoy with your family.
WIC 'N' PICK is more than just picking produce; it's about fostering healthy habits, supporting local agriculture, and strengthening the bonds within our WIC community.
| | Ready to join the fun? To RSVP for any of our WIC 'N' PICK dates, simply call the WIC office at 518-873-3500. We can't wait to see you there! | | |
Wonder if you qualify for WIC?
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Growing Up with Children's Services | |
At Children's Services, our focus is on empowering parents and families with the tools they need to nurture their children and foster their development. We offer a range of programs designed to support you every step of the way!
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Children's Services at Schroon Lake Farmer's Market
Children's Services had a fantastic time at the Schroon Lake Farmers Market on Saturday, June 28th! We set up a booth packed with helpful information about our programs and services, connecting with local families.
One of the biggest hits was our "Little Sprouts Farmers Market" – a fun, interactive area just for kids. Children loved pretending to shop for and sell fruits and veggies, learning about healthy eating while playing. It was wonderful to see so many happy faces and engaged young minds!
Come see us on Saturday, July 19th in Schroon Lake. We look forward to more opportunities to support children and families in our community.
| | | Stay tuned for more updates and information about each of these vital programs in future newsletters! We're here to help your children thrive. Call us at 518-873-3500 | | | | | |
Bringing Care Home - Home Health | | |
In June:
🌟Staff performed 701 visits
🌟Admitted 51 new patients to our services from our local hospitals, nursing homes and physician offices.
🌟Helped 33 patients reach their goals and were safely discharged to their own home.
🌟Drove a total of 3,953 miles.
Our Home Health Agency nurses provide home care specific to each individual's needs. Services may include:
- Skilled Nursing
- Wound Care
- Ostomy Care
- Continence Care
- Physical Therapy
- Speech & Occupational Therapy
- Telehealth
- Palliative Care
- Home Health Aides
- PICC and Central Line Care
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Do You Know an Expecting or New Parent? | |
Growing Together - A Community
Baby Shower
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Help us spread the word about our upcoming Community Baby Shower! This special event is designed to support and celebrate expecting parents/caregivers and families with infants under one year old in Essex County.
We're bringing together valuable resources to help new and soon-to-be parents connect with:
- Local resources
- Health education
- A fun photo station
- Car seat checks
- Lactation support
- ECHD nurses available to discuss vaccines
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If you know someone who would benefit from this event, please encourage them to register today!
Have questions? Give us a call at 518-873-3500
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Stay Healthy, Whatever the Season | | | |  | Click image to enlarge⬆. Click here for cooling center addresses. | | | | | |
Healthy People in Healthy Communities | | | | |
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