Modified: August 3, 2017 1:52pm
Latest News
PRESS RELEASE
From the Office of the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Gale R. Burstein
Date August 3, 2017
CONTACT: Mary C. St. Mary/Mary.StMary@Erie.Gov
Phone: 716.858.4941/ Mobile: 716.253.3925
Visit ECDOH at the Erie County Fair!
Free Health Screenings & Information
ERIE COUNTY, NY— The Erie County Department of Health (“ECDOH”) will be offering a variety of educational and informative activities throughout the twelve-day run of the annual Erie County Fair. The Health Department location is the Marketplace Building on 42nd Street at the Fair Grounds in Hamburg, NY.
The ECDOH will offer several interactive educational activities and provide access to public health experts available to answer fairgoers’ basic health questions. “There will be numerous opportunities to learn important health information on various topics, including lead poisoning prevention, recommended immunizations for all ages and home and family emergency preparedness,” stated Dr. Gale R. Burstein, Erie County Commissioner of Health. “This is a great opportunity for residents to have their questions answered directly by experts from several programs of the Health Department.”
The Erie County Opiate Epidemic Task Force will be represented every day, including local law enforcement officers with information about the REAP Program (Rapid Evaluation for Appropriate Placement), local treatment providers, and members of the Family & Consumer Support and Advocacy Section with information on local support groups. On-the-spot trainings to recognize an opioid overdose and how to reverse it using naloxone will be provided daily.
Free health screenings will be available on several dates. In conjunction with Catholic Health, on August 11th and 18th there will be free bone density screenings for women and men, age 40 or older. The Erie County Cancer Services Program will be present August 11th, 14th, 16th, and 18th, offering cancer screening education, referrals to services for those with little or no insurance and distribution of free take-home colon cancer screening kits for eligible men and women age 50 and over.
Screenings will include:
- Bone Density (8/11, 8/18)
- Colon Cancer Screening using free take home FIT test (8/11, 14, 16, 18)
Information & Experts on hand:
- Healthy Neighborhoods Program – Tips for safe and healthy homes (8/10, 13, 17, 19)
- Lead – How to prevent lead poisoning , services available (8/9, 12, 15, 18, 20)
- Vector Control–Rats, bats and other critters that can spread diseases, tips to protect you and your family (8/14)
- Info on September’s free rabies clinics
- Reduce asthma triggers in your home and services available (8/10, 13)
- How ECDOH protects the public water supply (8/11)
- Keep your well & septic system functioning properly
- Opioid Epidemic Task Force (daily)
- On-the-spot training to recognize opioid overdose & reverse it using naloxone (daily)
- Childhood Early Intervention Programs (8/13, 17)
- STDs, Condom Use and PrEP (8/12, 19)
- Epidemiology—tracking the spread of infectious diseases (8/9, 15, 20)
- Family Planning (8/14)
In addition to the ECDOH, these Erie County departments will also be present at the Fair sharing their knowledge:
Senior Services (8/9-11, 13, 14, 16-19)
- Caregiver Resource Center
- NY Connects
- RSVP
Emergency Services &
Public Health Emergency Preparedness
- Pet Emergency Preparedness (8/11,19)
- Home Emergency Preparedness (8/9, 20)
- Fire Safety (8/14, 17)
- First Aid & Safety (8/12, 18)
- All-Hazard Weather Preparedness (8/10, 16)
- Recreational and Outdoor Safety (8/15)
- Internet Security & Senior Safety (8/13)
Veterans Services (8/9, 13)
Environmental Planning (8/10, 15, 17, 20)
- Waste Water education
- Sewage Management
- Water Shed Habitat Restoration
- Shoreline Trail
Office of the Disabled (8/14)
Parks & Recreation Department (8/11, 12, 18, 19)
- Emerald Ash Borer information
- Fun things to do in Erie County Parks
- Learn to Geocache (8/19)
- Nature Classes (8/12 at 12, 2 & 4pm)
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (8/12, 15, 20)
Social Services Foster Care Program (8/16)
“I encourage everyone to stop by to learn about all of the services available to Erie County residents,” concluded Burstein.
Prior to the opening of the Fair, ECDOH staff will be inspecting all of the food vendors to ensure that the wide variety of food offerings is prepared safely. The Fair is the largest single event of the year for the Environmental Health Division! During the 12 days of the Fair, they will issue permits for and inspect over 160 temporary and food trucks, 14 permanent food service locations, 3 campgrounds, 3 temporary residences and the Fairground itself. As always, results of inspections of permanent food service locations (including food trucks) can be found at www.healthspace.com/erieny.
Inspection activities will also include maintenance of public bathrooms and hand washing stations, proper storage and disposal of animal waste, proper drainage of wastewater, garbage storage and collection, food service inspections, sanitary water connections and emergency vehicle egress in the camping areas. During the Fair, ECDOH responds to complaints such as clean indoor act smoking violations, food-borne illnesses, animal bites and bat exposures. Staff will conduct inspections and surveillance to ensure the anticipated 1 million plus visitors to the Fair have a safe and healthy experience.
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