Healthy Life

The Oswego County Health Department celebrates each of its divisions ahead of National Public Health Week, April 7-13.

The annual recognition honors and celebrates the hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining and promoting public health. This week’s spotlight is on the County’s Preventive Division.

 “This year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of National Public Health Week, an initiative focused on recognizing public health contributions and addressing key health issues,” said Oswego County Public Health Director Vera Dunsmoor. “To help celebrate our successes, this year we honor our divisions by highlighting the vast programs and services they each offer to the community.”

The Preventive Division offers a variety of services to residents, including immunization clinics, maternal/child health home visits, breastfeeding support, sexual and reproductive health and more. The division also does health promotion and disease surveillance, such as communicable disease control, lead poisoning prevention, rabies pre-and post-exposure vaccination program, sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance, and a tuberculosis control program.

 “The Preventive Division promotes health and well-being and protects our residents by implementing programs that help prevent disease and other health-related issues,” said Oswego County Supervising Public Health Nurse Jennifer Purtell. “One way we do this is through our immunization clinics. It’s important that people stay up to date on their vaccinations to help protect themselves and others from infectious diseases.

“We currently hold general immunization clinics every Tuesday so residents can come in to get the vaccines they need,” Purtell continued. “We also offer expanded seasonal vaccination clinics before students go back to school and ahead of flu season to ensure people are protected during these peak times for illness.”

General immunization clinics are hosted every Tuesday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, located at 70 Bunner St., Oswego. Appointments are required. To make an appointment, call the Oswego County Health Department at 315-349-3547.

Another important aspect of the Preventive Division is its Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. The program aims to find and reduce sources of lead before they can harm children. Staff help protect children from lead poisoning by promoting lead testing, teaching the public and health care providers about lead, helping families find sources of lead in their home, and ensuring children get necessary testing, education and treatment.

“We also provide assistance for parents through our Maternal/Child Health Home Visit Program,” said Purtell. “The program is short-term and voluntary, allowing a public health nurse to conduct prenatal, newborn and postpartum home visits with qualified families. Visiting nurses provide parenting education and support, complete a physical exam on the mother and the baby, weigh the baby, connect the parents with other helpful community resources and answer any questions they may have.”

Preventive also offers free lactation services to Oswego County residents. People can book a consultation with a certified lactation counselor, which includes prenatal breastfeeding education and a latch assessment, along with guidance and support. During the consultation, parents will learn about the benefits of breastfeeding, how to recognize hunger cues, various breastfeeding positions, proper latching techniques and pumping and expressing breastmilk. Consultations can be conducted in the comfort of the resident’s home or in the health department’s private lactation room. For more information or to request a consultation, call 315-349-3547 or visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/programs/1_preventive/maternal_child_health.php#Form.

Throughout Public Health Week, the Oswego County Health Department offers free activities, such as mammogram screenings from the Upstate University Hospital Mammography Van, a Mental Health Art Show, and a Kids’ Day Beach Party. For the full schedule of events, visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/national_public_health_week.php.

For more information on the Oswego County Health Department and its programs, visit https://health.oswegocounty.com/ or call 315-349-3545.