BOARD OF HEALTH
ANNUAL REPORT 2003
The Board of Health Office, is now located at 27 Maple Street in the Arlington Senior Center, located behind the Town Hall.
The Board of Health is required by state statutes and regulations to perform many important and crucial duties relative to the protection of public health and safety, the control of disease, the promotion of safe and sanitary living conditions, and the protection of the environment from damage and pollution. Staff annually permit and regularly inspect restaurants, tobacco retailers, massage therapy establishments, tanning establishments, pools, the ice-skating rink and the bathing beach. Inspectors from the department also follow up on numerous resident complaints relating to nearly any health related issue within the community ranging from trash and dumpster complaints to housing code violations.
Permits issued by the Board of Health in 2003:
PERMIT ISSUED NUMBER OF PERMITS ISSUED
Food 160
Tobacco 28
Massage therapist 71
Massage Establishment 20
Waste Hauler 10
Funeral Director 7
Tanning Establishment 6
Pool 9
Beach 1
Ice rink 1
TOTAL 313
To protect the community against the spread of contagious illnesses, a rigorous communicable disease tracking system is in place. ~When a doctor diagnoses a resident with a communicable disease, the public health nurse conducts an investigation to determine if further control measures are needed. ~The illness is then recorded and reviewed to identify and respond to any disease trends of concern. ~During 2003, 108 communicable diseases were monitored. ~Other efforts for disease prevention during 2003 included immunization clinics such as influenza vaccine clinics in the fall where over 700 elders were vaccinated and the rabies vaccine clinics in the spring where over thirty dogs and cats were vaccinated.
Communicable Diseases monitored by the Public Health Nurse in 2003:
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE NUMBER OF CASES
Campylobactor Enteritis 7
Chicken pox 1
Cryptosporidiosis 2
Ehrlichia 1
Giardia 6
Haemophilis Influenzae 2
Hepatitis B 24
Hepatitis C 21
Hepatitis E 1
Legionellosis 1
Lyme Disease 11
Meningitis 1
Pertussis 10
Salmonella 6
S.A.R.S. 1 (suspect case)
Shigellosis 2
Strep pneumonia invasive 4
Group A strep 1
Group B strep 2
Tuberculosis 3
West Nile Virus 1
TOTAL 108
In addition, childhood vaccines are provided to pediatric health care providers free of charge through the Vaccines for Children Program that is sponsored by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. ~Through this program all children, regardless of a family’s ability to pay, will have access to necessary vaccines. ~The Arlington Board of Health is the local vaccine depot for the State.
The three member Board of Health meets on a regular basis. During meetings, community health issues such as environmental health concerns are addressed and public hearings and policy review is performed regularly. In 2003, several meetings were held to revise the Town of Arlington, Board of Health Rules and Regulations Restricting Smoking and Distribution of Tobacco and Tobacco Products Within the Town of Arlington. The Regulations were revised in response to the elimination of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program local program in Arlington. The Board of Health also enacted the Arlington Board of Health Regulation on the Disposal of Mercury Thermostats in response to the reports on elevated mercury levels in all freshwater fish in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the future, the Arlington Board of Health will
continue to protect the public health and strive to improve the overall environment in which the community lives, through the enforcement of statutes and regulations. In 2004, the Board of Health will be receiving Federal Bio-Terrorism Funding to improve local public health infrastructure. The department will be using a portion of the funding to develop a computerized system to perform inspections in the community.
| 
