Health Services (Inspection/Regulation, Disease Prevention and Control, Clinic Services, & Emergency Management)   FY 2005 Highlights In FY 2005, the Health Department tackled a variety of public health issues. On October 5, 2004, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that the amount of flu vaccine available for this year’s flu immunization programs nationwide would be reduced in half due to problems encountered by one manufacturer. As a result, six months of planning by the Health Department, Human Services, and Police Departments for our local flu clinic and health fair had to be scrapped and alternative plans developed. Following CDC recommended guidelines, 900 doses of vaccine received by the Health Department from a state allocation were distributed to local nursing homes and local physicians so that the most vulnerable populations could be inoculated. The Department made arrangements with one physician to provide flu shots to those Windsor residents whose physician was out of town and did not have vaccine. In late November, the VNA contacted the Health Department and offered to conduct a flu clinic for those residents who had not yet received their vaccinations. Following CDC guidelines, a flu clinic was conducted on December 9 with approximately 275 doses of vaccine being administered. In preparation for this clinic and following VNA procedures, the Health Department was required to take appointments and schedule times for residents to come in and receive their shots. To accomplish this requirement, the Department used the town’s Emergency Operations Center, set up a bank of phones, and with the assistance of volunteers, scheduled appointments over the phone. This procedure not only received positive feedback from residents, staff, and the VNA, but also allowed the Department to test a portion of the mass vaccination plan that had been developed as part of the Bioterrorism (BT) grant. Throughout this flu vaccine supply crisis, the Department has monitored the State Health Department’s Flu Hotline to make sure that Windsor residents looking for flu shots have been linked to those conducting clinics. BT planning has continued throughout 2004 and 2005 with the continued receipt of grant funding. During the year, the Smallpox Mass Vaccination Plan developed for Windsor and South Windsor (Smallpox Planning Region #31) was revised following comments from the state. The Department participated in two regional drills and exercises that tested communications and the setting up of a clinic site. The Department, as part of Smallpox Planning Region #31 conducted a tabletop that tested a portion of our mass vaccination plan. Clinic supplies were purchased to cover the first 48 hours of a mass vaccination clinic, as required by the grant deliverables. Work began and will continue on developing a local Health Alert Network (HAN) that will be used to communicate with local health care providers during an emergency situation. Work also continued on recruiting medical and non-medical volunteers to staff clinics. In addition, a newsletter was started as a way to continue communicating with clinic volunteers. In the latter part of FY 2005, volunteer training began and will be on-going over the coming years. In conjunction with Windsor Safety Services, the annual Holiday Toy Drive and Toy Distribution was conducted on December 18, culminating many weeks of planning and preparation. On that date, 280 children and their families came to the Town Hall, met Santa and Mrs. Clause and received gifts of toys, clothing, and various goodies. The program not only added to the joy of those who received gifts, but was also a rewarding experience for all town staff who participated. The Department along with Risk Management continued to promote the placement of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in various public buildings – LP Wilson, Windsor High School, and Sage Park Middle School. Health also worked with Trinity United Methodist Church and School to place an AED in their facility. Advo has a very active program with 5 AEDs in their many Windsor facilities. The Department will continue to promote this program in the years ahead. In addition to the activities addressed above, the Department focused on the eight core public health areas as outlined and required by the State Health Department. These areas are health statistics, maternal and child health, community nursing services, health education, nutrition services, environmental health, communicable/chronic disease control, and emergency medical services/emergency preparedness. Specifically, Department personnel responded 24 hours a day to fires, smoke, power outages, and water breaks in various food service establishments; sponsored, along with Bloomfield, the annual Rabies Clinic for dogs and cats; co-sponsored the annual Kid’s Safety Fair; investigated reports of food poisoning, rabies, childhood lead poisoning, and tuberculosis; followed up on disease outbreaks at various long-term care facilities; continued to monitor the cleanup of Bradley International Airport, Combustion Engineering, Hamilton Sundstrand, and Knolls; spoke on health issues to various community groups; participated on state committees and professional organizations and sponsored a very active training program on health and BT using the town’s satellite facilities.