City of Methuen Annual Report: 2012

C i t y o f M e t h u e n A n n u a l R e p o r t : 2 0 1 2The Health Department has been participating in the Building Safety Task Force and has beenmonitoring all the abandoned and foreclosed properties in Methuen. Working with other citydepartments and the Attorney General’s Office, the department’s goal is to bring these propertiesinto compliance with state codes. Dozens of properties have been cleaned up, a few have been torndown, and several more are currently being worked on.Ongoing activities of the Board of Health also include mosquito monitoring throughout the city andbeach water testing at Forest Lake during the swimming months.The Board of Health and the Health Department has applied for and received federal and statefunding to form the Merrimack Valley Regional Health District along with the Cities of Lawrence andHaverhill. The Methuen Health Department will receive $350,000 over five (5) years to fund thecollaborative effort between the three cities and a full time regional public health nurse and a parttime registered sanitarian to assist each city in their operations and support new communityoutreach programs. The three cities are actively working with local hospitals and performingcommunity assessments and creating these programs.The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the CDC have issued guidelines andrequirements for the Region 3B Greater Lawrence Public Health Coalition to draft emergencypreparedness response plans and emergency operation plans. The Health Department has draftedan Emergency Operations Plan which incorporates biological, chemical and radiological responses aswell as communicable disease pandemics and natural disasters. The Health Department alsoreceived various emergency response supplies through State and CDC funding and is in the processof completing the Emergency Dispensing Site plans.The Health Department and members of the Board of Health will continue to take a proactiveapproach towards the protection of public health while ensuring safe and sanitary conditions in theCity. We will continue to move forward to bring the best services available to the City and continueto educate, preserve and protect public health within our community.On behalf of the Board of Health members and the staff of the Health Department, we thank theMethuen residents and establishments for their cooperation and look forward to providingcontinued quality service to the community.Respectfully,Brian J. LaGrasseDirector of Public Health71