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Health Information Resources Key contact data for health services, family support and safety information Child Find Program: Provides eligible children, ages birth to three, and their families referral to services in the community and assistance with establishing ongoing health care that includes developmental surveillance. Your local county, along with your child’s pediatrician, will track your child’s development up to age 30 months. Should a delay in development be identified, a referal for further evaluation and possible services can promptly be made to your county’s Early Intervention Program. (518)270-2655 Chronic Disease: Chronic disease prevention is promoted through screening programs for diabetes, breast and cervical cancer and blood pressure. Health education efforts are focused on the prevention of tobacco use in targeted segments of the population. Communicable Disease Program: The department conducts timely communicable disease investigation of all reportable diseases. (518) 270-2630 Disease Prevention Services: (518) 270-2655 Healthy Women Partnership: Provides services to eligible women at no cost or low cost for mammography and pap smears by affiliated providers within the county. Please call for more information. (518)270-2640 Hepatitis Vaccination Program: Rensselaer County Department of Health provides free hepatitis vaccination to high-risk patients attending RCDOH sponsored clinics. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends vaccination against hepatitis B virus for persons diagnosed as having recently acquired a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or who engage in sexual activity with more than one partner in a six month period. Many fitting this description are clients of STD clinics. ACIP has recommended that STD patients in certain high-risk groups receive hepatitis A vaccine as well as hepatitis B vaccine. These high risk groups include men having sex with men (MSM), persons at increased risk due to their sexual practices, intravenous drug users (IDUs), and anyone who has chronic liver disease or is HIV positive. HIV Program: The Rensselaer County Department of Health screens for HIV infection at a clinic held at the Health Department every Monday from 2 – 4 pm and every Wednesday at the STD clinic from 2 – 4:30 pm. Both confidential and anonymous testing are provided free of charge. The goal of the service is to promote early knowledge of HIV status through testing and to insure that all persons receiving testing are provided information about transmission, prevention and HIV test specifics. (518) 270-2763 Immunizations & Vaccinations: From children to senior citizens, timely immunizations are one of the most important ways to protect yourself and others from serious diseases. Vaccines are among the twentieth century's most successful and cost-effective public health tools for preventing disease and death. Today, there are few visible reminders of the suffering, injuries, and premature deaths caused by diseases that are now preventable with vaccines. Thanks to immunization, diseases that were once commonplace are now only distant memories for most Americans. Vaccines are now available to protect children and adults against life-threatening or debilitating disease including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, measles, chickenpox, rubella, mumps, polio, hemophilus influenza type b, influenza, pneumococcal infection and hepatitis B, among others. Immunizations are not just kid's stuff either. As an adult, you need to be protected against such preventable diseases as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pneumococcal disease, influenza and hepatitis B. Your best protection against these diseases is immunizations. College students also need immunizations against measles and meningococcal disease. Talk with your physician and review the recommendations posted here. Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: This program provides lead screening where applicable to children age six months to six years. In-home nursing visits are made to provide education for those children diagnosed with elevated lead levels. In some instances, environmental home inspections are made to identify lead problems and educate on corrective actions or abatement.(518)270-2642 Lyme Prevention Program: This program provides public education and follow-up to providers on diagnostic criteria. Nursing: The programs of the Nursing Division are categorized as family health, disease control and health education. Family Health includes maternal health and prenatal care, child health, lead poisoning prevention, injury prevention and nutrition. Activities where these services are conducted include public health nursing visits to families and disease control activities. Disease control activities include investigation, surveillance and follow-up of all reportable Communicable Diseases including West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease Clinics are also held for the testing, diagnosis and treatment of Tuberculosis, HIV and STD’s. Clinics are also held to provide appropriate Immunizations to all residents. Wellness education activities include presentations and group education on all relevant public health topics and participation at health fairs and community gatherings to promote the department’s programs. To contact the Nursing Division concerning any of the following programs, please call 270-2655. PeriNatal Hepatitis B Program: Identifies positive Moms and insures their infants receive the Hepatitis B Vaccine series. Call for information (518) 270-2763 Public Health Nursing Program: Provides home visits to pregnant women, new parents, infants and children to coordinate needed health and support services. In addition, the nurse provides health education related to prenatal care, growth and development of infants and children, nutrition, safety in the home and available community resources. (518) 270-2655 Rabies Control Program: This program provides treatment for individuals exposed to potentially rabid animals. Vaccination clinics are also provided for pet dogs and cats.(518) 270-2643 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Program: The Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) service of Rensselaer County Department of Health is to offer screening and preventive care to the residents of Rensselaer County. As a department, we provide health education to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. We test and/or screen for sexually transmitted diseases at our weekly STD clinic held on Wednesday from 2 PM to 4:30 PM at the Rensselaer County Department of Health. If a patient is screened and diagnosed with herpes or genital warts they will be referred to their primary care physician or another healthcare facility that provides treatment and follow-up for these specific diseases. All services provided during this clinic are free of charge. (518) 270-2630 Travel Immunization Program: Provides yellow fever vaccines and other services for travelers. Immunization clinic every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm and every Thursday 9am to 11am. Please call for hours at our Rensselaer and Hoosick Falls offices. (518) 270-2658. Travel Tips: How do I prevent/treat travelers’ diarrhea? Consume only canned or commercially bottled “carbonated” drinks. Avoid ice cubes that are not made from purified water. Brush teeth with purified water also. For most cases of travelers’ diarrhea, you don’t need to see a doctor. However, high-risk travelers may need a daily antibiotic to prevent diarrhea. Individuals who may be considered high risk include: Those with underlying medical problems (e.g. diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, AIDS, cancer, etc.). Tuberculosis Program: Offers medical care for active and inactive TB, skin testing, and medications. Skin tests done every Monday 12pm to 1pm and every Tuesday 2pm to 4pm. Please call for clinic dates. (518) 270-2630 Women’s Health: The Healthy Women Partnership is a program that offers services to eligible women at no cost or low cost for mammography and pap smears by affiliated providers within the county. Call for eligibility criteria at: 270-2640. Obtaining Services: Most services are by appointment. If there is an urgent problem, services will be arranged as quickly as possible. Location For more information please check our department home page or search our site. |
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