Over 7,000 Vaccinated at Health Department Clinics

H1N1 clinics are one of many things keeping the Health Department busy, according to reports from the Director heard Thursday night at the Board of Health's monthly meeting.

The Bernards Township Health Department has kept up with inspections of new restaurants, meeting all requirements for inspections for the year despite the additional work it has been doing with H1N1 clinics. About five new restaurants have recently opened in the area.

"That's really wonderful to see," said Lucy Forgione, Health Officer/Director of Health.

The department also compiled statistics and research about the H1N1 clinics. It has offered 16 clinics to date, with three more planned in February. Forgione reported that 7,227 people have been inoculated so far.

The most recent clinic, held Monday night at Ridge High School, was "crazy," according to Forgione. The clinic allowed walk-ins, leading to 559 people vaccinated in just two hours.

"This is a totally different type of clinic. Past clinics were all babies and children and a lot of crying," Forgione said. "Now we have a more mature population."

Forgione also reported on statistics about where people heard about the clinics and made appointments to be vaccinated. The most common ways people learned about the clinics were from family and friends, schools and newspapers. Many made their appointments online. Ridge seemed to be the best location for the clinics, Forgione said.

"If we ever need such a thing in the future, we know that it works," she said.

Reorganization

The board unanimously reelected Dr. Albert Pizzale to serve as its president, while Sarah Fenton was reelected to continue serving as vice president.

Drs. Mona Birk, Pizzale and John Salaki were appointed to another three-year term, expiring Dec. 31, 2012. Mary Pavlini will continue as the Township Committee voting member for another three years as well. No new members were added to the board for this term.

The Health Department is currently without a Health Educator/Youth Services Coordinator. The previous educator resigned due to the length of the commute. Services previously provided by the educator will continue to be offered while the department looks for a replacement.

The Health Department has also retained a new physician to provide the services of the Child Health Conference Clinics, including the well baby clinics the second Tuesday of every month at St. James Church.