NEWTON HHS HAS THE PRESCRIPTION

Newton TAB
Aug 11, 2009

Newton – Other cities and towns with the flu can learn from Newton,
according to a national group of health officials.

The city’s Health and Human Services department received a "Model
Practice Award" from the National Association of County and City Health
Officials last month, Mayor David Cohen said at his press conference
Monday. The department was recognized for organizing an inter-city flu
clinic with Arlington, Belmont, Brookline and Watertown that doubles
as an emergency preparedness exercise. HHS Director David Naparstek and
public health program specialist Teresa Wood Kett oversee the clinics.

The clinic helps Newton prepare for the possibility of a pandemic,
Cohen said, and lets the city assess how it’s reaching out to
potentially afflicted citizens. Innovations from the latest clinic
include large pictorial diagrams showing clinic attendees what to
do, information signs in Chinese, Armenian and Russian (which Cohen
read aloud after pointing out that it was being held upside-down)
and a vest emblazoned with the title "PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER"
for mayoral spokesman Jeremy Solomon to wear.

Newton’s program will be put in an online database so other communities
can use it for their own benefit, Cohen said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress