April 2, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of New Haven Announces National Public Health Week Events for 2021
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Today, the Department of Public Health at the City of New Haven announced the 2021 schedule for National Public Health Week next week. The theme for this year’s National Public health week is “Building Bridges to Better Health.” Since 1995, the American Public Health Association has educated the public, policy makers, and public health professionals about issues important to the public’s health through its sponsorship of National Public Health Week.
On Monday, April 5th, the Health Department will participate in the 4th Annual Connecticut Public Health Association (CPHA) Step Challenge. Step Challenge Teams are led by a Captain and will start logging steps at the start of National Public Health Week through April 30th. The teams will track their progress using Fitbits, phones, pedometers, or step converters. For more information on the 2021 CPHA Step Challenge, visit this link.
Tuesday, April 6th at noon, Health Director Maritza Bond will join Pediatrician Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur and other medical providers for a walk-and-talk on COVID-19 vaccinations. The group will gather at the Farmington Canal Trail near Scantlebury Park (139 Ashmun Street) at noon. This is an opportunity for residents and community members to ask any and all questions about the COVID-19 vaccination and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday, April 7th, Jennifer Roberts and Naomi Campbell will table at the pop-up vaccination clinics with information on the importance of childhood immunization schedules. There will be three COVID-19 vaccination pop-up clinics on April 7th: Community Baptist Church (10:30 AM – 2:30 PM), Springs of Life-Giving Water (10:30 AM – 2:30 PM), and City Employee Vaccinations at the Fire Training Academy (9:00 AM – 3:00 PM).
Thursday, April 8th, the Health Department will host a virtual Healthy Homes Webinar at 11:00 AM. The webinar aims to provide participants with new ways to protect the health and safety from possible hazards found in the home. The webinar will cover health and safety risks one may encounter, including home hazards, asthma management, and childhood lead poisoning prevention. The webinar will be held on Zoom; residents and media are encouraged to attend. The webinar will be hosted by Mariel Vicente, the Asthma Initiative Project Director at the Health Department.
Friday, April 9th, the Health Department will host a Narcan Training at 3:00 PM to learn about the current opioid epidemic and how to administer the overdose reversal medication, Narcan. If you are interested in attending the training, please register in advance by following the Zoom link. The Narcan Training will be hosted by Nicole Batista, Community Health Worker at the Health Department.
Media coverage is encouraged. Please wear a face mask for the in-person events.
About Public Health Awareness and the New Haven Health Department:
U.S. life expectancy dropped from 2014 to 2017 in the longest sustained decline since the Great Recession. Only in 2018 began to increase again; further, studies consistently show the United States has a lower life expectancy than comparable countries.
Public health professionals help communities prevent, prepare for, withstand and recover from the impact of a full range of health threats, including disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, measles, natural disasters, and disasters caused by human activity. With scientific and technological advances, public health action has played a significant role in reducing and eliminating the spread of infectious disease and establishing today’s disease surveillance and control systems.
Six in ten U.S. adults have a chronic disease, and four in ten have two or more. Health risks such as alcoholism, obesity, and tobacco use are the primary reason for seven of every ten deaths annually in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated and exacerbated racial inequities. A growing number of local and state governments and public health leaders have declared racism a public health crisis. Last summer, the City of New Haven joined other municipalities and declared racism a public health crisis.
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