2006 - Town of Longmeadow

Vaccination Clinics for high-risk individuals against vaccine preventable diseases were conducted this fall, Due to a
delay in the shipment of vaccine to public health entities, many of our high-risk residents who traditionally have
been immunized at our Board of Health clinics chose to receive their flu shots at pharmacy/supermarket clinics.
Nonetheless, the Board was able to immunize 941 residents and 200 Town employees with flu vaccine. One
Hundred and ten individuals were immunized with pneumonia vaccine. The Board also received from the Mass.
Dept. of Public Health free Hepatitis B vaccine to immunize 3 new employees whose jobs pose a risk of exposure.
The Board also performs T.B. skin testing for the following groups of individuals: new employees of school
department; new residents of Longmeadow who have emigrated from countries where Tuberculosis is endemic;
town residents who require testing as a condition of future employment; and town police and fire department
employees, who are at on-going risk of occupational exposure. In 2006, 110 Mantoux tests were performed: 4 tests
on high-risk individuals (which identified 4 cases of latent TB) and 106 tests for occupational reasons.
The annual Rabies Clinic, the Town’s 26 th , was held on April 1, 2006 under the direction of Marty Lee Caramante,
Dog Officer. Gerald Cutting, D.V.M. immunized a total of 26 animals: 15 dogs and 11 cats.
Longmeadow Board of Health Licensing and Inspectional Services
State and/or local regulations mandate the licensing and inspection of facilities conducting the following activities:
# Licenses Issued__ 2005 2006 #Inspections Performed _2005 2006
Bakery 5 5 Bakery 10 6
Catering 1 1
Food Service 44 44 Food Service 51 48
Frozen Dessert 2 2
Methyl Alcohol 7 7
Milk 40 40
Retail Food 11 12 Retail Food 13 13
Temporary Food Service 21 20 Temporary Food Service 59 39
Mobil Push Cart 1 1 Mobil Push Carts 2 2
Health Clubs 5 5 Health Clubs 5 3
Tanning Establishments 0 0 Tanning Establishments 0 0
Massage Establishments 2 3 Massage Establishments 3 4
Massage Operators 5 5
Tobacco 13 13 Compliance Checks 13 37
Environment.Smoke/Rest 36 48
Septic System Aband. 1 2
Swimming Pools 17 17 Swimming Pools 38 40
Camps 15 14 Camps 16 15
Septic Sys.Cleaning/Hauling 1 1 Septic Sys. Inspection 3 4
Septic Sys. Installer 2 4 Septic Sys. Install/Repair 16 8
Wells 0 0 Wells 0 0
Elder Abuse 14 10
Housing 3 5
Nuisances, Misc. 8 12
School Safety, Immunization 9 9
Total # Licenses: 192 194 Total # Inspections: 300 305
Other Board of Health Functions
The Longmeadow Health Director continues to serve on the Executive Board of the Hampden County Board of
Health Public Health Emergency Preparedness Consortium. In recognition of the urgent immediate need to upgrade
the public health infrastructure nationwide, the federal government through the state health departments continued to
provide grant funds to the Consortium to fund the purchase of essential public health equipment and trainings to
enhance public health emergency preparedness of local health authorities. These initiatives will help to provide a
seamless (cross-jurisdictional) response capacity to the emergency incidents.
All Hampden County communities, including Longmeadow, are also working on developing a basic response
capability within their communities to respond to small-scale events. The Board of Health Chair and the Health
Director have participated in drills of the Community Emergency Response Plan and have received certifications in
basic Incident Command. The Board of Health is also trying to recruit a cadre of health professionals and lay
volunteers into a Medical Reserve Corps that would be willing to assist the community in the event of a public
health emergency. Examples of this type of an emergency could be a flu pandemic requiring mass vaccination or a
severe weather condition requiring resident sheltering out of the home. To that end this Board has sought and
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