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September 20. 2012 12:35AM
Council authorizes pair of grants for Health Department
DERRY — The town’s health department is at the forefront of public health planning and initiatives in the region, according to Town Administrator John Anderson.
The Town Council recently authorized two grants that look to keep the Derry Health Department as a leader in public health programs in southern New Hampshire.
A $30,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will help support a pilot community health assessment program in conjunction with Parkland Medical Center. A $15,000 grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials will help support the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteer programs.
“The Greater Derry Medical Reserve Corps has been active in the region since 2003,” said Derry Public Health Network Coordinator Garrett Simonsen.
During that time, the administrative oversight for the program has been handled by Derry’s health department.
“The mission of the MRC is to recruit, train, deploy, and retain volunteer health professionals and others to assist in response to threats of bioterrorism, public health emergencies and other community needs,” said Simonsen.
The MRC has supported response to a number of emergency events through regional shelters, mass vaccination clinics and testing in a Hepatitis C outbreak.
The money from the grant will be used to continue to fund the part-time MRC program assistant position as well as regional training and exercising of volunteers to provide functional and medical needs at emergency shelters, according to Simonsen.
The grant from the Robert Wood Johnson foundation will help the town and Parkland Medical Center pilot a collaborative process for the development of a community/regional public health assessment and improvement plan.
“The process will involve collection and analysis of community health needs and development of an improvement plan to meet these needs,” said Simonsen.
Anderson said the grant was identified by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which approached Derry about applying for the grant.
“We will be a model for the rest of the state,” he said. “They want to take advantage of what we already have in place and share it with the rest of the state.”
Simonsen said Parkland Medical Center has signed a joint letter agreeing to be a partner in the public health assessment.
Adam Swift may be reached at aswift@newstote.com.
The Town Council recently authorized two grants that look to keep the Derry Health Department as a leader in public health programs in southern New Hampshire.
A $30,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will help support a pilot community health assessment program in conjunction with Parkland Medical Center. A $15,000 grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials will help support the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteer programs.
“The Greater Derry Medical Reserve Corps has been active in the region since 2003,” said Derry Public Health Network Coordinator Garrett Simonsen.
During that time, the administrative oversight for the program has been handled by Derry’s health department.
“The mission of the MRC is to recruit, train, deploy, and retain volunteer health professionals and others to assist in response to threats of bioterrorism, public health emergencies and other community needs,” said Simonsen.
The MRC has supported response to a number of emergency events through regional shelters, mass vaccination clinics and testing in a Hepatitis C outbreak.
The money from the grant will be used to continue to fund the part-time MRC program assistant position as well as regional training and exercising of volunteers to provide functional and medical needs at emergency shelters, according to Simonsen.
The grant from the Robert Wood Johnson foundation will help the town and Parkland Medical Center pilot a collaborative process for the development of a community/regional public health assessment and improvement plan.
“The process will involve collection and analysis of community health needs and development of an improvement plan to meet these needs,” said Simonsen.
Anderson said the grant was identified by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which approached Derry about applying for the grant.
“We will be a model for the rest of the state,” he said. “They want to take advantage of what we already have in place and share it with the rest of the state.”
Simonsen said Parkland Medical Center has signed a joint letter agreeing to be a partner in the public health assessment.
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Adam Swift may be reached at aswift@newstote.com.
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